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TO    WHICH   IS   PREFIXED 


A  LIFE   OF 


JOHN    THE    BAPTIST 


[Republished  from  the  Third  Edition  by  request  of  the  "  Ladies'  Commission 
on  Sunday-School  Books."] 


BOSTON: 
AMERICAN  UNITARIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

1874. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by  the 

AMERICAN   UNITARIAN   ASSOCIATION. 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts 


University  Press:  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co., 
Cambridge. 


PREFACE 

TO    THE    SECOND    EDITION. 


The  present  edition  of  the  "  Lives  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles  "  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  found  an 
improvement  on  the  first.  The  work  has  been 
considerably  enlarged,  and  its  form  has,  in  some 
respects,  been  changed.  A  Life  of  John  the 
Baptist  is  now  prefixed  to  the  other  lives,  and  a 
Life  of  the  Apostle  Matthias  is  added  at  the 
close.  The  Notes,  which,  in  the  first  edition, 
were  printed  at  the  end  of  the  volume,  have 
either  been  incorporated  with  the  text,  or  printed 
in  their  several  places  as  foot-notes.  Authorities 
have  been  reconsulted,  and  critical  conclusions 
reconsidered. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  the  author,  from  more 
than  one  respected  source,  that  lives  of  Saint 
Paul,  and  of  the  Evangelists  Mark  and  Luke, 
would  be  a  desirable  addition  to  the  biographies 


IV  PREFACE. 

of  the  Apostolic  Twelve.  '  But  he  has  been  fear 
ful  of  injuring  thereby  the  unity  of  his  group, — 
that  group  which  immediately  surrounded  our 
Lord,  and  whose  lives  are  connected  with  his 
in  the  Gospel  accounts ;  and  he  has  therefore 
thought  it  more  advisable  to  limit  himself  to  the 
insertion  of  a  life  of  the  great  Forerunner,  which 
properly  precedes  the  other  histories. 

In  the  Notes  to  the  first  edition,  the  author 
had  named  the  days  on  which  the  Apostles  are 
severally  commemorated  in  the  Western  Church, 
and  had  also  given  the  Collects,  or  short,  com- 
prehensive prayers,  which  are  appropriated  to 
those  days  in  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of 
England.  To  those  Collects  he  has  now  sub- 
joined some  pieces  of  selected  poetry,  chiefly 
from  late  works  of  Bishop  Mant  and  of  Keble, 
with  a  view  of  increasing  the  religious  impression 
of  the  volume,  and  adding  somewhat  of  a  devo- 
tional to  its  scriptural  and  biographical  character. 
They  who  do  not  attach  any  peculiar  sacredness 
to  the  days  which  are  set  apart  to  the  Apostles 
and  Saints  by  some  churches  may  yet  have  their 
affections  profitably  engaged,  at  any  convenient 
periods,  by  a  devotional  application  of  those  lives 


PREFACE.  V 

and  examples  which  have  been  bequeathed  to 
the  Church  universal. 

The  same  sentiments  of  affection,  respect,  and 
duty  which  prompted  the  author  to  dedicate  the 
first  edition  of  these  "  Lives "  to  "  The  Mem- 
bers op  the  Society  worshipping  at  King's 
Chapel  "  induce  him  to  inscribe  the  volume  in 
its  present  form  to  the  same  friends,  with  the 
hope  that  it  may  prove  more  deserving  than  be- 
fore of  their  acceptance  and  approbation. 

Francis  W.  P.  Greenwood. 

October  4,  1835. 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

Life  of  John  the  Baptist 1 

Lives  of  the  Aposti.es. —  The  Twelve  ....  27 

Simon  Peter 39 

Andrew 73 

James  the  Greater 79 

John 91 

Philip 109 

Bartholomew 114 

Thomas .  120 

Matthew 135 

James  the  Less 140 

Jude 158 

Simon  Zelotes 163 

Judas  Iscariot 165 

Matthias 184 

Concluding  Remarks 188 


COLLECTS    AND    HYMNS. 

The  order  of  names  which  follows  differs  from  that  of  the  above  list,  and  is  the 
order  in  which  the  days  occur  in  the  calendar. 

Saint  Andrew's  day,  November  30 203 

Saint  Thomas's  day,  December  21 205 


Vlll 


CONTENTS. 


Saint  John  the  Evangelist's  day,  December  27 

Saint  Matthias's  day,  February  24   . 

Saint  Philip  and  Saint  James's  day,  May  1 

Saint  John  the  Baptist's  Day,  June  24     . 

Saint  Peter's  day,  June  29  . 

Saint  James's  day,  July  26       ... 

Saint  Bartholomew's  day,  August  24  . 

Saint  Matthew's  day,  September  21 

Saint  Simon  and  Saint  Jude's  day,  October  28 


.  207 

210 
.  212 

214 
.  216 

221 
.  223 

225 
.  230 


OF  THE     X>^ 


versitt; 

LIFE  ^ 

'     OP 

JOHN    THE   BAPTIST. 


As  John  the  Baptist  presented  himself  to  his 
countrymen  as  the  herald  and  precursor  of  Jesus, 
and  was  acknowledged  by  Jesus  to  be  so,  and 
as  his  history  is  remarkably  connected  with  the 
early  part  of  the  history  of  our  Lord,  the  notices 
which  are  given  of  him  in  the  Scriptures  possess 
unusual  interest.  It  is  my  purpose  to  examine 
these  notices  in  their  order,  so  as  to  present,  as 
far  as  the  materials  will  permit,  a  continuous 
view  of  his  life.  This  life  will  naturally  precede 
the  lives  of  those  who  were  afterwards  sent  by  the 
Messiah  to  publish  his  laws  and  doctrines,  as  John 
was  sent  from  above  to  be  his  harbinger. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  Luke's  Gospel,  we  have 
an  account  of  the  particulars  attending  the  birth 
of  the  Baptist.  His  father  was  a  priest  by  the 
name  of  Zacharias ;  and  his  mother,  whose  name 
was  Elizabeth,  "  was  of  the  daughters  of  Aaron  " ; 
so  that  he  was  by  birth  of  the  order  of  priesthood, 
and  on  the  side  of  both  father  and  mother,  of 
l  A 


2  JOHN   THE  BAPTIST. 

sacerdotal  descent.  He  was  the  child  of  their 
old  age.  His  father  Zacharias  was,  as  is  said 
by  the  Evangelist,  "  of  the  course  of  Abia."  To 
understand  this  expression,  we  must  recur  to  the 
fact,  stated  in  the  First  Book  of  Chronicles,  that 
David  divided  the  descendants  of  Aaron  into 
twenty-four  orders,  named  after  the  chief  men 
among  them,  who  should  attend  to  the  service  of 
the  temple  in  rotation.  The  eighth  of  these 
orders,  or  courses,  was  that  of  Abijah,  or  Abia, 
and  the  one  to  which  Zacharias  belonged. 

What  was  more  honorable  to  the  parents  of 
John  than  their  official  and  hereditary  sanctity, 
they  were  really  holy  and  virtuous  people.  "  They 
were  both  righteous  before  God,  walking  in  all 
the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord, 
blameless."  No  parentage  could  be  more  fit  for 
the  forerunner  of  the  holy  Jesus. 

As  Zacharias  was  officiating  in  the  temple  in 
his  turn,  or  u  in  the  order  of  his  course,"  an 
angel  appeared  to  him,  predicted  the  birth  of  his 
son,  and  declared  that  his  name  should  be  John, 
which  means,  in  the  Hebrew  language,  the  gift 
or  grace  of  God.  He  added  that  his  birth  would 
be  the  cause  of  rejoicing  to  many ;  that  he  would 
be  '"'  great  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord "  ;  that  he 
would  be  singularly  abstemious,  and  "  filled  with 
the  Holy  Spirit " ;  and  that  he  should  go  before 
the  Lord  "  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias."     It 


JOHN  THE   BAPTIST.  3 

was  a  general  expectation  among  the  Jews,  that 
the  prophet  Elias,  or  Elijah,  was  to  reappear  on 
earth  in  person,  to  announce  the  arrival  of  the 
Messiah ;  and  this  expectation  was  founded  on 
one  or  two  passages  of  the  Book  of  Malachi,  such 
as,  "  Behold  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he 
shall  prepare  the  way  before  me";  and  still  more 
explicitly,  "  Behold  I  will  send  you  Elijah  the 
prophet  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  dread- 
ful day  of  the  Lord."  The  words  of  the  angel 
evidently  refer  to  this  prophecy,  and  at  the  same 
time  imply  that  the  messenger  of  the  Lord,  who 
was  to  precede  and  announce  the  Messiah,  was 
not  to  be  Elijah  himself,  according  to  common 
expectation,  but  one  who  should  "  go  before  him 
in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah,"  —  one  who,  like 
Elijah,  should  be  endowed  with  a  perception  of 
God's  purposes  towards  mankind,  and  with  power 
to  operate  on  their  minds,  to  persuade  them  to 
repentance,  and  thus  "  to  make  ready  a  people 
prepared  for  the  Lord." 

In  due  time  John  was  born  ;  and  his  birth  took 
place  six  months  before  that  of  Jesus,  whose 
mother  Mary  was  the  cousin  of  his  mother  Eliz- 
.abeth.  As  the  former  event  may  be  considered 
the  dawn  which  betokened  the  rising  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness,  we  perceive  the  propriety  of  its 
being  recorded  by  Luke  in  the  beginning  of  his 
Gospel.     The  circumcision  of  John  took   place, 


4  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

as  was  customary  among  the  Jews,  on  the  eighth 
day  after  his  birth;  and  on  this  day  his  father 
Zacharias  recovered  the  use  of  his  speech,  of 
which  he  had  been  deprived,  as  a  sign  of  the 
truth  of  what  the  angel  had  told  him.  "  He 
spake,  and  praised  God  "  ;  and  his  joy  burst  forth 
in  the  words  of  that  sublime  and  holy  song,  be- 
ginning, "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  for 
he  hath  visited  and  redeemed  his  people."  We 
are  then  told  that  "  the  child  grew,  and  waxed 
strong  in  spirit,  and  was  in  the  deserts  till  the 
day  of  his  showing  unto  Israel."  The  meaning 
of  this  last  clause  is  not  that  John,  in  his  early 
childhood,  lived  alone  in  a  wilderness,  but  that 
he  passed  his  days,  till  he  was  called  to  the  exer- 
cise of  his  mission,  in  the  privacy  of  his  parents' 
abode,  which  was  in  the  deserts  or  hill-country  of 
Judaea,  as  we  are  informed  in  the  former  part  of 
the  same  chapter.  As  Hebron  was  the  capital  of 
this  hill-country,  and  was,  moreover,  one  of  the 
cities  appointed  for  the  residence  of  the  priests, 
it  was  probably  the  place  where  John  passed  his 
childhood  with  his  parents,  as  Josus  did  with  his. 
Its  distance  south  of  Jerusalem  was  between 
twenty  and  thirty,  and  in  the  same  direction  from 
Nazareth  about  seventy  miles. 

Nothing  more  is  related  of  John,  till  we  hear 
of  his  call  to  commence  his  great  work.  The 
period  of  his  entrance  on  his  ministry  is  marked 


JOHN   THE   BAPTIST.  5 

with  great  precision.  "  Now  in  the  fifteenth  year 
of  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  Pontius  Pilato 
being  governor  of  Judaea,  and  Herod  being  te- 
trarch  of  Galilee,  and  his  brother  Philip  tetrarch 
of  Iturea  and  of  the  .region  of  Trachonitis,  and 
Lysanias  the  tetrarch  of  Abilene,  Annas  and 
Caiaphas  being  the  high-priests,  the  word  of 
God  came  unto  John  the  son  of  Zacharias,  in  the 
wilderness.  And  he  came  into  all  the  country 
about  Jordan,  preaching  the  baptism  of  repent- 
ance for  the  remission  of  sins."  The  call  came 
to  him  in  the  wilderness,  or  thinly  peopled  hill- 
country,  where  his  family  resided ;  and  beginning 
there,  he  advanced  towards  Jerusalem,  confining 
himself  to  the  same  retired  portions  of  Judaea, 
and  preaching  to  those  who  resorted  to  him  in 
increasing  numbers,  till  he  reached  Bethabara 
beyond  Jordan,  a  few  miles  from  the  holy  city, 
where  he  held  his  principal  station.  All  this  dis- 
trict of  country  bordered  upon  the  sacred  river 
Jordan,  in  which  he  baptized  those  who  were 
affected  by  his  preaching,  and  enlisted  themselves 
among  his  disciples.  Bethabara  was  probably 
near  a  fordable  part  of  the  river,  as  the  meaning 
of  the  word  is  "  the  house  of  the  passage."  It 
was  therefore  a  convenient  place  of  resort  for 
his  hearers. 

The  great  doctrine  which  the  Baptist  preached, 
as  preparatory  to  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  was 


6  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

repentance.  "  In  those  days,"  says  the  account 
of  Matthew,  "  came  John  the  Baptist,  preaching 
in  the  wilderness  of  Judasa,  and  saying,  Repent 
ye ;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  For 
this  is  he  that  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet 
Esaias,  saying,  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make 
his  path  straight."  His  custom,  which  was  not  a 
new  one  among  the  Jews,  was  to  baptize  those 
who  believed  his  warnings,  and  joined  themselves 
to  him  as  converts  or  disciples,  that  he  might  sig- 
nify the  cleansing  and  renewing  of  mind  which 
was  necessary  for  the  reception  of  the  new  state 
of  things  which  was  approaching,  as  well  as  es- 
sential to  the  repentance  which  he  himself  so 
earnestly  insisted  on.  And  the  same  meaning  of 
moral  preparation  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  pro- 
phetic metaphors  of  filling  the  valleys  and  bring- 
ing low  the  mountains  and  hills,  making  the 
crooked  ways  straight,  and  the  rough  smooth, 
which  were  duties  belonging  to  the  herald  and 
forerunner  of  the  anointed  Prince  of  peace. 

The  appearance  and  habits  of  living  which  were 
assumed  and  practised  by  John,  while  he  was 
preaching  and  baptizing,  and  to  which  he  had  no 
doubt  accustomed  himself  from  tender  age,  were 
consistent  with  his  character  as  the  representative 
of  Elijah.  His  clothing  was  coarse,  and  his  food 
such   as   the   deserts  yielded.     "And  the  same 


JOHN   THE   BAPTIST.  7 

John  had  his  raiment  of  camel's  hair,  and  a  leath- 
ern girdle  about  his  loins ;  and  his  meat  was  lo- 
custs and  wild  honey."  *  Compare  this  account 
of  Matthew  with  the  description  given  in  the  Sec- 
ond Book  of  Kings  of  Elijah.  "  What  manner 
of  man,"  inquired  Ahaziah  of  his  messengers, 
"  was  he  who  came  up  to  meet  you,  and  told  you 
these  words  ?  And  they  answered  him,  He  was 
an  hairy  man,  and  girt  with  a  girdle  of  leather 
about  his  loins.  And  he  said,  It  is  Elijah  the 
Tishbite."  f  This  was  probably  a  usual  kind  of 
dress  with  the  ancient  prophets,  especially  in 
times  of  distress  or  great  excitement.  The  insect 
called  the  locust  was  allowed  as  food  by  the  Le- 
vitical  law,  £  and  travellers  assure  us  that  it  is 
eaten  in  Eastern  countries  at  the  present  day,  and 
that  the  bees  of  Palestine  still  deposit  their  stores  in 
the  holes  of  the  rocks  in  such  abundance  that  the 
honey  is  sometimes  seen  flowing  down  the  surface. 
Living  in  this  severe  manner,  and  proclaiming 
on  the  wild  banks  of  the  Jordan  the  approach  of 
the  Messiah's  reign  and  Israel's  redemption,  John 
drew  universal  regard,  and  the  desert  became 
populous  around  him.  a  Then  went  out  to  him 
Jerusalem  and  all  Judaea,  and  all  the  region 
round  about  Jordan,  and  were  baptized  of  him  in 
Jordan,  confessing  their  sins."  §     I  have  already 

*  Matt.  iii.  4.  J  Lev.  xi.  22. 

t  2  Kings  i.  8.  §  Matt.  iii.  5. 


8  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

said  that  the  ceremony  of  baptism,  .or  washing 
with  water,  was  not  new  among  the  Jews,  as  sig- 
nificant of  change  and  renewal,  on  the  reception 
of  converts  or  disciples  to  proposed  forms  of  faith 
or  discipline.  It  may  be  added,  that  it  was  a 
current  opinion  among  the  Jews,  founded  as 
usual  on  prophecy,  that  the  forerunner  of  the 
Messiah,  or  Messiah  himself,  or  both,  would  use 
the  form  of  baptism,  when  the  time  of  Israel's 
redemption  should  come.  A  passage  in  Zecha- 
riah  which  was  thought  to  warrant  this  opinion 
is  at  least  poetically  descriptive  of  the  office  of 
John  at  his  station  of  Bethabara  beyond  Jordan. 
"  In  that  day  there  shall  be  a  fountain  opened  to 
the  house  of  David  and  to  the  inhabitants  of  Je- 
rusalem, for  sin  and  for  uncleanness."  * 

The  character  of  John's  preaching  and  instruc- 
tions is  set  forth  with  a  great  degree  of  particu- 
larity in  the  account  which  is  given  by  Luke  of 
his  exhortations  and  advice  to  various  classes  of 
persons,  from  which  it  plainly  appears  that  his 
doctrine  was  of  a  direct  and  practical  kind,  and 
that  the  preparation  which  he  inculcated  was  of 
a  moral  nature  entirely.  He  warned  the  people 
not  to  rely  with  their  wonted  pride  on  their  being 
the  children  of  Abraham,  but  to  "  bring  forth 
fruits  worthy  of  repentance."  He  was  surprised 
to  see  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  resorting  to 

*  Zech.  xiii.  1. 


JOHN  THE  BAPTIST.  9 

him ;  because  they  were  so  filled  with  this  pride, 
and  so  confident,  in  the  merit  of  their  ceremonial 
righteousness.  He  was  surprised  that  they  should 
come  to  his  baptism,  which  was  one  of  real  and 
practical,  not  formal  or  mystical  repentance.  "  0 
generation  of  vipers  ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  children 
of  deceit  and  hypocrisy !  who  hath  warned  you  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ?  " 

When  "  the  people  asked  him,  saying,  What 
shall  we  do  then  ? "  he  indicated  by  his  answer 
what  was  the  nature  of  those  fruits  which  were 
worthy  of  repentance,  those  deeds  which  proved 
a  true  change  of  heart  and  mind  ;  —  he  said  unto 
them,  "  He  that  hath  two  coats,  let  him  impart  to 
him  that  hath  none ;  and  he  that  hath  meat,  let 
him  do  likewise."  The  great  duty  of  benevolence 
is  here  enforced,  and  illustrated  by  one  of  its  sim- 
ple modes,  and  exalted  in  clear  superiority  above 
the  works  of  the  law. 

And  when  the  publicans,  or  tax-gatherers,  came 
to  be  baptized,  "  and  said  unto  him,  Master,  what 
shall  we  do  ?  he  said  unto  them,  Exact  no  more 
than  that  which  is  appointed  you."  He  knew 
their  peculiar  temptations,  and  their  besetting  sin, 
arising  from  the  circumstances  of  their  situation, 
and  he  therefore  warned  them  against  the  spirit 
of  extortion,  and  exhorted  them  to  honesty,  mod- 
eration, and  mercy. 

"  And  the  soldiers  likewise  demanded  of  him, 
1* 


10  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

saying,  And  what  shall  we  do  ?  And  he  said 
unto  them,  Do  violence  to  no  man,  neither  accuse 
any  falsely ;  and  be  content  with  your  wages." 

This  is  all  quite  practical  and  plain,  and  shows 
that  the  eremitical  Baptist,  severe  as  he  was  in 
his  manners,  solitary  in  his  haunts,  and  striking 
in  his  whole  appearance  and  deportment,  was  yet 
simple  and  direct  in  his  teaching,  and  did  not 
affect  to  move  in  a  cloud  of  mysticism.  It  de- 
notes also,  that  though  he  may  have  had,  on  some 
points,  mistaken  views  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom, 
and  did  not  embrace  the  whole  extent  of  its  spir- 
ituality, yet  he  was  well  aware  that  it  was  to  be  a 
moral  reformation,  without  which  there  could  be 
no  national  deliverance,  and  that  all  who  would 
be  its  subjects  and  partake  of  its  blessings  could 
secure  their  place  only  by  repentance  and  right- 
eousness of  life.  This  was  one  proof  of  the  truth 
and  divinity  of  his  mission.  Excited  as  the  peo- 
ple were  by  the  mere  proclamation  of  the  coming 
deliverer,  he  made  no  further  use  of  the  excite- 
ment than  to  direct  it  to  .moral  ends.  He  knew 
that  this  was  the  limit  of  his  commission.  He 
said  and  did  nothing  to  rouse  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  to  any  hostile  manifestations  ;  but  whether 
they  were  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  publicans,  or  sol- 
diers, he  only  exhorted  them  to  true  repentance 
and  the  performance  of  the  charitable  and  peace- 
ful duties.     Here  also  we  may  observe  a  remark- 


JOHN   THE  BAPTIST.  11 

able,  and  I  may  say  a  miraculous,  conformity 
between  the  spirit  of  the  Baptist's  preaching  and 
the  spirit  of  the  Messiah's  religion  as  it  was  after- 
wards developed.  There  is  no  appearance  of  any 
intimacy  or  collusion  between  them.  They  lived 
seventy  miles  apart  from  each  other,  —  the  one  in 
Nazareth  of  Galilee,  and  the  other  in  Hebron  of 
Judasa,  —  and  therefore,  though  related  to  each 
other,  had  probably  met  but  seldom,  up  to  the 
time  of  the  public  appearance  of  John  as  a 
preacher  and  prophet.  There  is  evidently  an  un- 
prepared and  undesigned  agreement  between  the 
introduction  and  the  perfection  of  the  new  dispen- 
sation ;  a  spiritual  agreement  which  could  not 
have  existed  between  two  uninspired  Jews,  nur- 
tured in  the  prejudices  and  traditions  of  their 
nation.  The  true  light  was  preceded  by  the  true 
witness.  The  dawning  was  a  pure  and  correct, 
though  faint,  likeness  of  the  day. 

Distinguished,  however,  as  John  the  Baptist 
had  become  by  his  austere  mode  of  life,  by  his 
prophetic  dress  and  bearing,  by  his  bold,  ear- 
nest, and  authoritative  teaching,  by  the  crowds 
who  appeared  as  his  baptized  disciples,  and  by 
his  annunciation  of  the  ardently  longed-for  Mes- 
siah, the  people  began  to  suppose  that  he  might 
be  the  Messiah  himself.  If  John  had  been  only 
playing  a  part,  and  been  under  the  influence  of 
a  worldly  ambition,  he  might  easily  have  turned 


12  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

this  idea  to  bis  own  advantage  and  personal  exal- 
tation. But  he  maintained  his  own  proper  place 
and  duty,  humbly  and  strictly.  "  And  as  the 
people  were  in  expectation,  and  all  men  mused  in 
their  hearts  of  John,  whether  he  were  the  Christ 
or  not,  John  answered,  saying  unto  them  all,  I 
indeed  baptize  you  with  water ;  but  one  mightier 
than  I  cometh,  the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am 
not  worthy  to  unloose ;  he  shall  baptize  you  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."  *  John  allowed 
that  he  performed  the  office  of  baptism  as  a 
teacher  and  reformer,  but  declared  that  it  was 
only  introductory  and  emblematic,  only  a  baptism 
with  water ;  while  he  who  was  soon  to  be  mani- 
fested, the  real  Christ,  to  be  whose  servant  he  was 
himself  unworthy,  would  baptize  with  a  far  more 
thorough,  searching,  and  efficacious  baptism,  with 
a  spiritual  and  purifying  baptism,  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  fire.  In  using  this  latter  expres- 
sion, he  perhaps  had  in  his  mind  the  passage  of 
Malachi,  which  says,  "  And  he  shall  sit  as  a  re- 
finer and  purifier  of  silver;  and  he  shall  purify 
the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and  sil- 
ver, that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering 
in  righteousness."  John,  however,  changes  the 
metaphor,  and  represents  the  Messiah  as  a  hus- 
bandman, with  his  winnowing  fan  in  his  hand, 
thoroughly  separating  the  wheat  on  his  floor  from 

*  Luke  iii.  15. 


JOHN  THE  BAPTIST.  13 

the  chaff,  gathering  the  former  into  his  granary, 
and  burning  the  latter  with  fire. 

And  now  the  time  arrives  when  he  who  was 
to  come  appears.  "Then  cometh  Jesus  from 
Galilee  to  Jordan,  unto  John,  to  be  baptized  of 
him."  From  the  retirement  of  distant  Galilee, 
where  he  had  passed  his  youth  in  study  and  labor, 
and  in  docile  subservience  to  his  parents,  Jesus, 
having  entered  upon  his  thirtieth  year,  which 
was  the  age  of  induction  into  the  priestly  office 
among  the  Jews,*  travelled  to  Bethabara,  and 
presented  himself  to  his  relative  to  be  baptized. 
How  eventful  was  this  meeting  between  the  son 
of  Elizabeth  and  the  son  of  Mary !  They  whose 
births  had  been  announced  by  the  angel  Gabriel, 
and  who  had  since  lived  apart  in  holy  seclusion 
and  quiet  duty  for  thirty  years,  were  now  brought 
together  by  the  call  of  God  in  the  presence  of 
assembled  multitudes,  and  this  was  the  first  pub- 
lic interview  between  the  commissioned  herald 
and  the  anointed  prince,  between  the  messenger 
and  the  Redeemer.  When  John  heard  the  re- 
quest of  Jesus  to  be  baptized,  he  at  first  forbade, 
or  refused  him ;  for  though  he  was  not  yet  cer- 
tified of  his  being  the  Christ,  yet  he  was  proba- 
bly acquainted  with  the  wonders  attending  his 
birth,  and  with  his  life  of  entire  purity  and  holi- 
ness.     Therefore   he    meekly   remonstrated,   "  I 

*  Numbers  iv. 


14  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee,  and  comest 
thou  to  me  ?  "  But  Jesus,  who  would  commence 
his  ministry  with  a  public  and  solemn  ordinance, 
and  regardful,  perhaps,  of  the  usage  by  which 
the  sons  of  Aaron  were  washed  with  water  be- 
fore they  commenced  the  functions  of  the  priest- 
hood,* answered,  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now ;  for 
thus  it  become th  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness." 
Thus  urged,  or,  it  may  be,  commanded,  John 
could  no  longer  hesitate,  and  the  two  moved 
down  through  the  silent  crowd  into  the  expectant 
stream,  and  its  waters,  more  consecrated  than 
consecrating,  were  poured  on  the  Saviour's  head. 

"  Old  Jordan  smiled,  receiving  such  high  pay 
For  those  small  pains  obedient  he  had  spent, 
Making  his  waters  guard  the  dried  way- 
Through  wonders  when  to  Canaan  Israel  went  ; 
Nor  does  he  envy  now  Pactolus'  streams, 
Or  Eastern  floods,  whose  paths  are  paved  with  gems."t 

As  Jesus  came  up  from  the  river,  the  heavens 
were  opened  to  declare  his  mission  to  the  earth, 
the  spirit  of  God  descended  with  a  dove-like 
motion  upon  him,  and  a  voice  was  heard  pro- 
nouncing, "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased."  From  this  moment  the  min- 
istry of  Jesus  commenced,  and,  "  being  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  returned  from  Jordan,  and 
was  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness,"} 
where  he  fasted  and  was  tempted. 

*  Exodus  xxix.  4.        f  Joseph  Beaumont.        J  Luke  iv.  1 . 


JOHN   THE   BAPTIST.  15 

As  we  know  that  Jesus  was  thirty  years  of  age 
when  he  began  his  ministry,  and  that  this  was 
the  age  prescribed  by  the  Jewish  law  as  the 
proper  time  for  the  commencement  of  sacred 
functions,  it  is  probable  that  John  began  his 
ministry  at  the  same  age,  and,  being  six  months 
older  than  Jesus,  we  may  draw  the  conclusion 
that  he  had  been  six  months  preaching  and 
baptizing,  when  that  manifestation  of  the  Messiah 
took  place  which  was  the  great  end  of  his  bap- 
tism. 

At  the  expiration  of  our  Saviour's  sojourn  in 
the  wilderness,  he  returned  to  Bethabara,  and 
took  up  his  abode  in  that  neighborhood.  About 
the  same  time,  the  great  council  of  the  Jews, 
moved  by  the  celebrity  of  John,  and  the  surmises 
of  the  people  concerning  him,  and  being  yet 
ignorant  of  the  appearance  and  claims  of  Jesus, 
sent  a  formal  deputation  to  the  Baptist,  to  ascer- 
tain what  he  was,  or  assumed  to  be.  "  And 
this,"  says  the  Evangelist  John,*  "  is  the  record," 
or  rather  the  testimony,  or  free  profession,  "  of 
John,  when  the  Jews  sent  priests  and  Levites 
from  Jerusalem  to  ask  him,  Who  art  thou  ?  And 
he  confessed,  and  denied  not ;  but  confessed,  I 
am  not  the  Christ."  With  decided  and  earnest 
reiteration  he  refused  the  kingly  title.  "And 
they  asked  him,  What  then  ?     Art  thou  Elias  ? 

*  John  i.  1 9. 


16  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST. 

And  he  saith,  I  am  not."  Though  he  did  come 
in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah,  yet  as  he  was 
aware  that  they  intended  to  inquire  whether  he 
was  Elijah  himself,  according  to  their  notions, 
restored  to  earth  to  precede  the  Messiah,  he  was 
too  honest  to  reply  except  in  the  negative.  They 
pursued  their  interrogatories.  "  Art  thou  that 
prophet?"  They  asked  him,  in  the  pertinacity 
of  their  opinion  that  some  one  or  another  of 
the  ancient  prophets  was  to  reappear  in  person, 
whether  he  was  such  a  prophet.  And  he  still 
answered,  "  No."  Then,  having  exhausted  their 
suppositions,  and  unwilling  to  go  back  to  Jerusa- 
lem without  some  satisfactory  answer,  they  said 
unto  him,  "  Who  art  thou  ?  that  we  may  give  an 
answer  to  them  that  sent  us.  What  sayest  thou 
of  thyself  ?  "  The  look  of  the  Baptist,  the  hum- 
ble and  yet  rapt  and  holy  expression  of  his  coun- 
tenance, may  be  imagined,  but  not  described, 
with  which  he  said,  in  the  sublime  words  of 
Isaiah,  and  standing  in  that  forest  by  the  flowing 
waters  of  Jordan,  "  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  wilderness,  Make  straight  the  way  of  the 
Lord."  It  was  immaterial  what  he  was  in  per- 
son, or  in  name ;  he  was  only  a  voice,  —  a  voice 
in  the  wilderness,  —  but  yet  a  voice  proclaiming 
to  the  world,  and  proclaiming  truly  and  solemnly, 
"  Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord." 

As  John  had  denied  being  either  of  the  per- 


JOHN   THE   BAPTIST.  17 

sons  suggested,  the  deputation  asked,  in  surprise, 
and  perhaps  with  anger,  why  then  he  undertook 
to  perform  the  important  office  of  baptism.  In 
answer,  John  declared,  as  he  had  before,  that 
his  baptism  was  but  outward  and  introductory, 
whereas  his  successor  and  superior  would  baptize 
with  a  holier  and  mightier  baptism.  He  inti- 
mated, moreover,  that  this  exalted  personage, 
though  they  knew  him  not,  was  even  then  among 
them.  And  thus  he  publicly  declared  to  this 
official  deputation  the  actual  arrival  of  the  Mes- 
siah. 

The  next  day  John  saw  Jesus  coming  toward 
him,  and  made  him  known  to  the  people  who 
were  then  assembled,  by  that  memorable  excla- 
mation, "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world  ! "  *  He  then  went 
on  to  say,  that  this  was  he  who,  coming  after 
him,  was  yet  before  him  ;  that  he  did  not  at  first 
know  that  he  was  the  expected  Redeemer,  but 
that  it  was  to  make  him  manifest  to  Israel  that 
he  himself  had  come  baptizing  with  water ;  and 
that  on  the  day  when  he  baptized  him,  he  saw 
and  heard  those  heavenly  signs  which  convinced 
him  that  he  was  the  Christ,  for  they  were  signs 
which  he  had  been  taught  to  look  for.  "  He  that 
sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,"  said  he,  "  the 
same  said  unto  me,  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see 

*  John  i.  29. 

B 


18  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

the  Spirit  descending,  and  remaining  on  him,  the 
same  is  he  who  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  * 
He  then  adds,  "  And  I  saw,  and  bare  record, 
that  this  is  the  Son  of  God." 

Again  the  next  day  after,  as  he  was  standing 
with  two  of  his  disciples,  he  looked  on  Jesus  as 
he  walked  by,  and  said,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God  !  "  One  of  these  disciples  was  Andrew,  and 
the  other  probably  was  John  the  Evangelist ;  f 
and  these  two  disciples  of  the  forerunner  of 
Christ  were  among  the  first  disciples  of  Christ 
himself. 

As  Jesus  was  now  manifested  to  Israel,  and 
had  begun  his  work,  the  ministry  of  John  may 
be  said  to  have  closed.  Still,  however,  he  co- 
operated as  he  was  able  with  his  Master,  and 
continued  to  baptize.  Jesus  also,  or  rather  his 
disciples,  began  to  baptize  in  Judaea ;  and  this 
seems  to  have  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  John,  who  came  and  reported  it  to  him.  J 
The  Baptist  at  this  time  had  moved  higher  up 
the  river,  and  "was  baptizing  in  Enon,  near  to 
Salim,  because  there  was  much  water  there." 
His  reply  to  his  disciples  hushed  their  murmur- 
ings,  and  was  another  humble,  affectionate,  and 

*  John  i.  33. 

t  When  John  speaks  of  a  disciple,  without  mentioning   his 
name,  he  is  supposed  to  intend  himself. 
X  John  iii.  22 ;  iv.  2. 


JOHN   THE   BAPTIST.  19 

manly  testimony  to  the  superior  dignity  of  Jesus. 
He  told  them,  that  they  themselves  would  bear 
him  witness,  that  he  said  he  was  not  the  Christ, 
but  was  sent  before  him.  He  declared  that  as 
the  friend  of  the  bridegroom  rejoiced  to  hear  the 
bridegroom's  voice,  so  his  joy  was  fulfilled.  He 
added  those  affecting  and  prophetic  words,  "  He 
must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease."  He  then 
spoke  at  large  of  the  divine  truth  and  glory  of 
the  mission  of  Christ,  concluding,  "He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life ;  and  he 
that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life  ;  but 
the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

"  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  decrease." 
Perhaps  John  did  not  himself  know  how  soon 
and  how  fearfully  those  words  were  to  be  ful- 
filled. He  could  not  have  known  it;  because, 
though  content  to  occupy  an  inferior  station,  he 
yet  looked  for  some  signal  and  outward  display 
of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  to  be  manifested, 
however,  with  accompanying  holiness,  in  which 
he  might  participate,  or  at  least  rejoice.  But 
this  was  not  to  be  granted  him.  His  work  and 
his  life  were  soon  to  be  ended. 

The  popularity  of  John  had  attracted  the  no- 
tice of  Herod  the  tetrarch,  surnamed  Antipas, 
who  was  the  son  of  that  Herod  who  had  thirty 
years  ago  commanded  the  slaughter  of  the  in- 
fants of  Bethlehem.     He  had  sent  for  the  Baptist, 


20  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

and  conversed  with  him ;  not  that  he  was  desirous 
of  hearing  truth,  but  he  was  anxious  to  see  so 
celebrated  a  person ;  and  celebrity  was,  in  his 
eyes,  as  it  is  in  the  eyes  of  many,  the  great  thing, 
whether  it  appertain  to  a  buffoon  or  a  saint.  But 
John  reproved  him  for  his  marriage  with  Hero- 
dias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife,  which  so  incensed 
that  bad  woman,  that  she  caused  her  infatuated 
husband  to  throw  him  into  prison  ;  which  prison, 
according  to  the  historian  Josephus,  was  the  for- 
tress of  Machaerus,  on  the  northern  border  of  the 
Dead  Sea.  Here  John  was  doomed  to  lie  inac- 
tive,—  another  proof  of  the  proverbial  fickleness 
of  the  favor  of  great  men  and  princes,  —  but  still 
retaining  the  respect  of  Herod  on  account  of  his 
integrity  and  wisdom,  and  causing  him  to  fear  on 
account  of  his  favor  with  the  people.  Herodias 
would  have  killed  him  at  first ;  "  but  she  could 
not ;  for  Herod  feared  John,  knowing  that  he  was 
a  just  man  and  an  holy,  and  observed  him."  But 
she  was  revengeful  as  she  was  licentious,  and  she 
did  not  forget  the  Baptist's  offence,  nor  her  own 
deadly  purpose. 

While  John  was  lying  thus  in  prison,  in  the 
power  of  a  weak  prince,  who  was  under  the  influ- 
ence of  a  wicked  and  dangerous  woman,  he  heard 
of  the  works  of  Christ,  but  heard  nothing  which 
promised  deliverance.  Either  suffering  himself 
to  become  impatient,  at  which  we  need  not  won- 


JOHN   THE   BAPTIST.  21 

der,  or  desiring  to  obtain  the  most  definite  infor- 
mation regarding  the  proceedings  and  designs  of 
Jesus,  he  sent  unto  him  two  of  his  disciples,  who 
adhered  to  him  in  all  his  troubles,  to  inquire  of 
him,  "  Art  thou  he  that  should  come,  or  do  we 
look  for  another  ?  "'  The  answer  which  Jesus  re- 
turned, while  it  reminded  him  of  the  continued 
testimonials  of  the  Spirit  to  his  mission  by  mira- 
cles, directed  him  to  the  spiritual  nature  of  his 
kingdom,  which  was  evinced  by  his  preaching  its 
glad  tidings  to  the  poor.  And  this  answer  proba- 
bly calmed  the  troubled  though  strong  mind  of 
John,  and  satisfied  him  that  he  must  now  look 
for  deliverance  to  that  kingdom  alone,  "  where 
the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary 
are  at  rest." 

As  the  messengers  of  John  departed,  Jesus  be- 
gan to  speak  concerning  him  to  the  surrounding 
multitude,  and  rendered  a  testimony  to  his  pro- 
phetic mission,  which  proves  his  own  unshaken 
confidence  in  the  Baptist's  integrity.  What,  he 
asked  them,  did  they  go  out  into  the  deserts  of 
Judaea  to  see  ?  Not  surely  the  wind-shaken  reeds 
on  the  banks  of  the  Jordan ;  not  a  man  clothed 
in  fine  and  costly  raiment,  for  men  thus  clothed 
were  to  be  found  in  palaces,  not  deserts ;  but  they 
went  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  a  prophet.  And 
he  was  indeed  more  than  a  common  prophet. 
He  had  more  than  a  common  mission,  and  he  had 


22  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST. 

faithfully  discharged  it.  He  was  sent  to  prepare 
the  way  of  the  Messiah,  and  he  had  prepared  it. 
Of  those  who  had  hitherto  been  raised  up  for  im- 
portant purposes  by  the  Almighty,  none  had  been 
greater  than  John  the  Baptist ;  and  yet  even  he 
entertained  so  inadequate  notions  of  the  entire 
spirituality  of  the  Messiah's  kingdom,  that  the 
least  among  those  who  should  truly  receive  it,  in 
its  pure  separateness  from  the  world,  would  be 
greater  than  he. 

After  bearing  this  open  testimony  to  the  truth 
of  John's  divine  mission,  and  the  reality  of  his 
prophetic  character,  —  a  truth  and  reality  which 
were  not  impaired  by  the  imperfection  of  his 
views,  —  Jesus  closes  the  discourse  by  some  re- 
marks on  the  effect  of  his  ministry  in  connection 
with  his  own.  He  speaks  of  the  small  number 
of  those  who  had  been  moved  to  repentance  by 
John  the  Baptist  or  by  himself,  and  rebukes  the 
people  of  that  age  for  their  perversity  in  rejecting 
both,  although  they  were  so  different  from  each 
other  in  character  and  habits.  John,  being  of  an 
austere  and  retired  deportment,  was  charged  with 
being  melancholy  or  crazed  ;  —  they  said,  "  He 
hath  a  devil."  He  himself,  mingling  more  freely 
with  men  of  all  ranks,  and  partaking  of  their  en- 
tertainments, was  rudely  accused  of  being  "  a 
gluttonous  man  and  a  wine-bibber,  a  friend  of 
publicans  and   sinners."     Such   a  stubborn  and 


S  \ 


^ 

JOHN  THE  BAPTIST.  23 

petulant  generation  might  be  fitly  likened  to  chil- 
dren in  the  streets,  who  would  refuse  to  join  with 
their  companions  in  any  games,  and  would  nei- 
ther dance  to  their  festive  piping,  nor  lament  with 
them  when  they  imitated  the  funeral  wail. 

It  was  probably  about  three  months  after  this 
occurrence  that  the  revengeful  Herodias  found 
an  opportunity  of  accomplishing  the  destruction 
of  the  Baptist.  As  Herod  was  keeping  his  birth- 
day, by  a  magnificent  supper  which  he  gave  to 
his  lords  and  captains,  she  sent  her  daughter  by 
her  former  husband  *  into  the  hall,  to  dance  be- 
fore him  and  his  guests.  The  exhibition  pleased 
the  tetrarch  to  such  a  degree,  that  he  promised 
with  an  oath  to  grant  the  daughter  whatsoever 
she  should  ask,  even  to  the  half  of  his  kingdom. 
The  young  dancer  went  out,  and  reported  this  to 
her  mother,  and  consulted  her  with  regard  to  the 
request  which  she  should  prefer.  Herodias,  with- 
out hesitation,  and  feeling  that  the  dark  game 
was  now  in  her  own  cruel  hands,  told  her  daugh- 
ter to  ask  for  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist ;  and, 
in  order  to  make  sure  of  her  prey,  and  guard 
against  any  humane  deception,  she  added  the  con- 
dition, that  the  head  should  be  brought  to  her  on 
a  "  charger,"  or  large  dish.  For  such  a  terrible 
request  the  sobered  king  was  wholly  unprepared, 

*  She  had  a  daughter,  as  Josephus  tells  us,  by  the  name  of 
Salome. 


24  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST. 

and  he  was  "  exceeding  sorry."  Nevertheless,  he 
conceived  himself  bound  by  his  oath,  —  as  if  an 
oath  could  bind  the  soul  to  crime,  —  and  sent  an 
executioner  to  the  prison  to  do  the  wicked  deed. 
"  It  was  the  holy  purpose  of  God,"  says  Bishop 
Hall,  "  that  he  who  had  baptized  with  water 
should  now  be  baptized  with  blood."  The  blame- 
less John,  —  the  preacher  of  repentance  and  right- 
eousness, —  the  holy  reprover  of  vice,  whether  a 
publican's  or  a  king's,  —  was  beheaded  in  the 
prison.  "  For  one  minute's  pain,  he  is  possessed 
of  endless  joy ;  and  as  he  came  before  his  Saviour 
into  the  world,  so  is  he  gone  before  him  into 
heaven."  His  faithful  disciples  forsook  him  not, 
though  dead,  but  came,  and  "  took  up  the  body 
and  buried  it " ;  and  then  went  and  informed 
Jesus  of  what  had  taken  place. 
•  The  uneasy  conscience  of  Herod  Antipas  would 
not  suffer  him  to  forget  the  image  of  his  victim. 
When  he  afterwards  heard  of  the  fame  of  Jesus, 
he  expressed  his  belief  that  it  was  John  the 
Baptist,  whom  he  had  beheaded,  risen  from  the 
dead. 

It  is  not  told  us  in  the  Gospels  where  the  Bap- 
tist was  buried  by  his  disciples.  Less  authentic 
accounts  state,  that  "  in  the  time  of  Julian  the 
apostate,  his  tomb  was  shown  at  Samaria,  where 
the  inhabitants  opened  it,  and  burnt  part  of  his 
bones ;  while  the  rest  were  saved  by  some  Chris- 


JOHN  THE   BAPTIST.  25 

tians,  who  carried  them  to  an  abbot  of  Jerusalem, 
named  Philip."  * 

The  Roman  Church  celebrates  the  martyrdom 
of  John  the  Baptist  on  the  29th  of  August.  But 
the  day  on  which  he  is  especially  commemorated 
is  the  24th  of  June,  which  is  kept  as  the  day  of 
his  nativity ;  it  being  the  only  nativity,  besides 
that  of  our  Saviour,  which  that  church  observes. 
The  Apostles  and  other  saints  bore  witness  to  the 
truth  more  especially  by  their  deaths,  but  John 
more  especially  by  his  birth,  with  its  concomitants. 
A  kind  of  perpetual  commentary  is  thus  afforded 
on  the  declaration  of  the  angel,  that  "  many  shall 
rejoice  in  his  birth."  And  as  our  Lord's  nativity 
is  observed  on  the  25th  of  December,  and  he  was 
about  six  months  younger  than  John,  the  24th  of 
June  is  properly  selected  as  the  birthday  of  the 
latter.  Here  again  a  comment  of  the  same  poet- 
ical character,  on  another  text,  has  sometimes 
been  noticed.  The  days,  which  begin  to  lengthen 
at  the  first  of  those  dates,  and  to  grow  shorter  at 
the  last,  point  to  that  saying  of  the  Baptist  already 
quoted,  "  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  de- 
crease." 

But  leaving  these  somewhat  fanciful  allusions, 
we  cannot  fail  to  observe  that  the. life  of  the  Bap- 
tist, setting  forth  so  clearly  and  prominently  the 
gravity,  disinterestedness,  courage,  and  purity  of 

*  Calmet. 
2 


26  JOHN   THE   BAPTIST. 

his  character,  is  a  worthy  introduction  to  the  Lives 
of  that  "  glorious  company  of  the  Apostles,''  who 
praised  God  as  he  did  in  life  and  death,  who  sur- 
round the  Lamb  in  heaven  as  they  did  on  earth, 
and  whose  example  enforces  that  of  the  forerun- 
ner, which  so  earnestly  exhorts  us  to  "  constantly 
speak  the  truth,  boldly  rebuke  vice,  and  patiently 
suffer  for  the  truth's  sake."  0  for  more  of  that 
primitive  faith  and  virtue !  for  more  witnesses, 
more  disciples ! 

"  Where  is  the  lore  the  Baptist  taught, 

The  soul  unswerving,  and  the  fearless  tongue  ! 
The  much-enduring  wisdom,  sought 
By  lonely  prayer  the  haunted  rocks  among  1 
Who  counts  it  gain 
His  light  should  wane, 
So  the  whole  world  to  Jesus  throng  ? " 


V       OP  THE     X 

live4UKI7BRSIT7! 

THE    APOSTLES. 


THE    TWELVE. 

Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  and  Teacher  sent 
from  God,  soon  after  he  commenced  his  min- 
istry, selected  twelve  men  to  be  his  immediate 
followers  and  confidential  disciples.  "  Now  the 
names  of  the  twelve  Apostles  are  these :  the  first, 
Simon  who  is  called  Peter,  and  Andrew  his 
brother ;  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  John  his 
brother ;  Philip,  and  Bartholomew;  Thomas,  and 
Matthew  the  publican;  James  the  son  of  Al- 
pheus,  and  Lebbeus,  whose  surname  was  Thad- 
deus  ;  Simon  the  Oanaanite,  and  Judas  Iscariot, 
who  also  betrayed  him."  This  list  of  the  Apostles 
is  taken  from  the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  who  was 
himself  one  of  them.  We  are  also  presented 
with  a  similar  catalogue  in  the  Gospels  of  Mark 
and  Luke,  and  in  the  Book  of  Acts.* 

*  Matthew's  list  is  from  chap,  x,  2,  3,  4,    For  facility  of  refer- 
ence, the  three  remaining  lists  of  the  twelve  are  here  subjoined. 
"  And  Simon  he  surnamed  Peter :  and  James  the  son  of  Zebe« 


28  THE  TWELVE. 

Why  the  exact  number  of  twelve  was  appoint- 
ed, it  is  more  difficult  than  important  to  deter- 
mine. Perhaps  it  was  done  in  compliance  with 
the  attachment  of  the  Jews  to  that  number.  Per- 
haps it  was  with  a  more  particular  reference  to 
the  number  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  and  the  tribes 
of  which  they  were  the  progenitors  and  founders ; 
"  Ye  also,"  says  Jesus,  "  shall  sit  upon  twelve 
thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel." 
Under  the  new  dispensation,  ye  twelve,  whom. 
I  have  chosen,  shall  exercise  the  same  spiritual 
authority  and  rule  as  did  the  twelve  patriarchs 
under  the  old  dispensation.  Ye  shall  be  regarded 
with  the  same  religious  respect.  Ye  shall  give 
laws  and  ordinances  to  my  people. 

The  motives  which  induced  the  Master  to  call 
to  himself  a  select  company  of  disciples  seem  to 

dee ;  and  John  the  brother  of  James ;  and  he  surnamed  them 
Boanerges,  which  is,  The  Sons  of  Thunder;  and  Andrew;  and 
Philip;  and  Bartholomew;  and  Matthew;  and  Thomas;  and 
James  the  son  of  Alpheus ;  and  Thaddeus ;  and  Simon  the  Ca- 
naanite ;  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  also  betrayed  him."  Mark  iii. 
16,  17,  18,  19. 

"  Simon,  whom  he  also  named  Peter;  and  Andrew  his  brother; 
James  and  John  ;  Philip  and  Bartholomew ;  Matthew  and  Thom- 
as; James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and  Simon  called  Zelotes;  and 
Judas  the  brother  of  James,  and  Judas  Iscariot,  who  also  was  the 
traitor."     Luke  vi.  14,  15,  16. 

"  Peter  and  James  and  John  and  Andrew,  Philip  and  Thom- 
as, Bartholomew  and  Matthew,  James  the  son  of  Alpheus,  and 
Simon  Zelotes,  and  Judas  the  brother  of  James."     Acts  i.  13. 


THE   TWELVE.  29 

be  more  obvious.  It  was  proper  and  even  neces- 
sary that  he  should  have  some  followers  in  whom 
he  might  particularly  confide,  and  who  should  be 
always  near  him  and  about  him. 

It  was  needful,  in  the  first  place,  that  he  should 
be  thus  attended,  in  order  that  the  wonders 
which  he  worked  in  confirmation  of  the  divinity 
of  his  mission  should  be  nearly  inspected  and 
credibly  attested.  I  deem  it  one  of  the  strongest 
evidences  of  the  truth  of  our  Saviour's  miracles, 
that  they  were  performed,  not  only  in  sight  of 
the  multitude,  but  of  a  select  company,  who  were 
too  familiar  with  him  to  be  deceived  themselves, 
and  too  honest  to  join  with  him  in  deceiving  oth- 
ers. Being  brought  into  the  midst  of  his  opera- 
tions, they  were  qualified  to  judge  of  their  reality 
and  integrity,  and  therefore  qualified  to  report 
them  to  the  world  with  all  the  warmth  of  convic- 
tion, and  all  the  directness,  particularity,  and 
authority  of  constant  experience  and  repeated 
vision.  A  changing  crowd,  never  composed  per- 
haps on  any  two  occasions  of  the  same  materials, 
might  have  been  mistaken ;  but  a  band  of  twelve 
companions  could  not  have  been.  They  were 
fitted,  as  in  no  other  way  they  could  have  been 
so  well,  for  the  purpose  of  declaring  to  men  the 
power  from  above  with  which  their  Master  was 
invested;  and  that  they  might  be  thus  -  prepared 
was  one  of  his  designs  in  choosing  them.     "  Ye 


30  THE   TWELVE. 

are  witnesses  of  these  tilings,"  said  he  to  the 
eleven,  after  his  resurrection  from  the  dead.  He 
evinced  a  consciousness  of  innocence  and  sincer- 
ity by  admitting  so  many  partakers  of  his  secret 
counsels  and  his  daily  deeds ;  and  he  manifested 
his  wisdom  by  securing  such  an  irrefragable  tes- 
timony to  the  reality  of  those  signs  from  Heaven 
which  pointed  him  out  as  truly  the  Son  of  God. 

The  apostles  were  selected,  in  the  second  place, 
in  order  that,  by  reiterated  instruction,  they 
might  become  well  acquainted  with  the  religion 
which  their  Master  was  about  to  establish  on  the 
earth.  "  It  is  given  unto  you  to  know  the  mys- 
teries of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Jesus  ad- 
dressed himself  to  all  who  had  ears  to  hear,  but 
more  particularly  to  those  twelve  who  were  to 
preach  in  his  name  when  he  should  be  lifted  up ; 
because,  through  them,  mankind  were  to  receive 
the  tidings  of  his  salvation.  He  chose  them,  that 
he  might  teach  them,  so  that  they  in  turn  might 
teach.  His  doctrine  was  so  new,  so  different  from 
what  men  had  been  used  to  dignify  with  the  title 
of  religion,  that  occasional  lessons  to  the  multi- 
tude, uttered  in  a  confined  sphere  and  by  a  single 
individual,  would  hardly  have  served  the  purpose 
of  rendering  it  familiar  and  making  it  well  un- 
derstood. On  this  account  it  was  more  minutely, 
clearly,  and  repeatedly  explained  to  a  select  class 
of  pupils,  who  were  thus  prepared  to  become  in- 


THE  TWELVE.  31 

structors  themselves,  and,  by  penetrating  into 
different  and  distant  countries,  to  disseminate 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth  a  religious  system 
which  was  at  first  promulgated  to  the  Jewish  peo- 
ple, and  limited  to  their  small  inheritance  alone. 
They  were  called  apostles,  because  they  were  sent 
out  into  the  world.*  Before  they  were  sent,  they 
were  instructed  in  the  purposes  and  powers  of 
their  mission.  And  how  slow  they  were  to  com- 
prehend, after  all  the  pains  which  had  been  be- 
stowed on  them,  the  true  nature  of  the  Messiah's 
kingdom  and  laws,  may  be  read  in  their  own  con- 
fessions of  ignorance.  It  was  late,  and  not  till 
after  supernatural  illumination,  that  they  were 
thoroughly  initiated  in  the  true  meaning  of  the 
religion  which  they  were  commissioned  to  preach 
and  to  spread.  This  is  a  fact  which  forcibly  at- 
tests, not  the  dulness  of  the  disciples,  for  their 
natural  perceptions  were  as  quick  as  those  of 
other  men,  but  the  need  there  was  of  their  being 
well  grounded  in  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  and  the 
opposition  which  existed  between  the  entire  sim- 
plicity and  spirituality  of  those  doctrines  and  the 
grossness  of  their  own  expectations  and  of  the 
common  opinions  of  the  world. 

It  may  be  well  to  add  to  the  above  reasons  for 
the  separation  of  the  twelve,  that  they  were  brought 
into  a  close  personal  intimacy  with  the  Saviour,  in 

*  From  the  Greek  a7rocrreXXco  (apostello),  "  I  send." 


32  THE   TWELVE. 

order  that  they  might  study  his  example,  borrow 
his  spirit,  and  so  receive  the  image  of  his  life  that 
they  might  reflect  it  in  their  own.  They  were 
both  the  witnesses  and  the  objects  and  recipients 
of  that  divine  gentleness,  compassion,  and  benevo- 
lence, which  from  that  fountain  flowed  out  all 
abroad  on  everything.  They  could  not  be  so  much 
in  his  society  without  being  affected  by  the  bland 
influences  of  his  manners  and  character.  It  was 
very  probably  intended  that  they  should  be  thus 
affected ;  that  they  should  behold  the  temper  of 
Christianity  in  a  living  form ;  its  doctrines  set 
forth  in  conduct ;  its  precepts  illustrated  by  a 
perpetually  corresponding  practice ;  and  that,  be- 
holding this,  they  should  be  touched  by  its  beauty, 
and  conformed  in  some  measure  to  its  likeness, 
and  enabled  to  hold  up,  not  only  the  description, 
but  the  copy  of  it,  before  the  sight  of  men.  It  was 
almost  an  inevitable  result  of  their  situation,  that 
they  should  imbibe  a  portion  of  the  divine  life  of 
Christianity  from  their  strict  fellowship  with  its 
founder.  Like  those  flowers  which  are  known  to 
drink  in  the  light  of  the  sun  while  he  remains 
above  the  horizon,  and  then  to  give  it  out  in  mild 
flashes  when  the  evening  shades  come  on,  so  the 
disciples,  while  their  Master  sojourned  with  them, 
while  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shone  upon  them, 
absorbed  the  beaming  excellence  of  his  character, 
and  then,  when  he  left  the  earth,  emitted  it  par- 


THE   TWELVE.  33 

tially  again  amidst  the  moral  darkness  which  sur- 
rounded them. 

One  other  purpose,  which  the  connection  of  the 
twelve  disciples  with  our  Saviour  was  fitted  to  an- 
swer, was,  the  qualification  which  it  conferred  on 
them  for  recording  his  deeds  and  words,  and  pre- 
serving to  posterity  the  invaluable  memorial.  1 
know  not  how  we,  of  this  age,  could  have  trusted 
implicitly  to  accounts  of  the  origin  and  true  prin- 
ciples of  the  Christian  religion,  which  tradition 
alone  might  have  brought  down  to  us ;  nor  is  it 
easily  conceivable  how  any  persons  could  have 
been  better  prepared  to  render  an  authentic,  trust- 
worthy, and  interesting  history  of  our  faith,  than 
were  those  who  accompanied  Jesus  through  the 
several  scenes  of  his  ministry,  and  immediately 
succeeded  him  in  publishing  the  Gospel.  Accord- 
ingly, we  find  that  two  out  of  the  four  relations 
of  our  Saviour's  life  and  death  were  written  by 
two  of  the  twelve  disciples ;  and  that  the  greater 
part  of  the  remaining  books  of  the  New  Testament 
were  likewise  composed  by  the  original  apostles, 
and  by  that  'distinguished  individual  whose  apos- 
tlcship  was  bestowed  on  him  directly  and  miracu- 
lously from  Heaven.  It  is  true,  that  we  are  obliged 
to  learn  from  tradition  who  the  writers  were  of 
several  of  the  sacred  books ;  but  a  few  facts  of 
this  simple  nature  might  securely  be  trusted  to  its 
keeping,  though  at  the  same  time  it  would  be  an 

2*  0 


34  THE  TWELVE. 

improper  depository  and  an  unsafe  vehicle  for  the 
numerous  occurrences,  sentiments,  and  precepts 
which  constitute  the  Christian  system.  It  is  a 
self-evident  proposition,  that  the  chosen  compan- 
ions of  Jesus,  having  witnessed  his  miracles, 
having  been  instructed  in  his  religion,  and  made 
intimately  acquainted  with  his  character,  were 
qualified  in  the  best  manner  to  convert  their  expe- 
rience into  history,  and  to  transmit  to  the  latest 
ages  an  indubitable  standard  of  Christian  truth. 

Such  appear  to  be  our  Saviour's  motives,  as  far 
as  we  are  authorized  to  judge  of  them,  in  nomi- 
nating his  twelve  disciples.  It  becomes  a  matter 
of  no  inconsiderable  interest  to  us  to  know  some- 
thing of  the  history,  to  ascertain  something  of  the 
character,  of  those  who  were  so  peculiarly  and  so 
highly  distinguished. 

Who  were  those,  in  the  first  place,  whom  the 
Saviour  of  men,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  the  Son  of 
God,  chose  out  of  the  whole  world,  to  be  his  com- 
panions, his  friends,  his  pupils,  his  witnesses,  his 
historians,  his  apostles  ?  What  were  their  quali- 
ties ?  How  were  they  recommended  to  the  notice 
of  Jesus  ?  What  were  their  occupations,  their 
condition,  education,  principles  ?  It  was  a  re- 
markable station  which  they  were  called  upon  to 
hold,  —  so  near  the  person,  so  high  in  the  con- 
fidence, of  the  most  exalted  being  who  ever 
appeared  on  our  earth.     As  disciples  ourselves, 


THE   TWELVE.  35 

though  it  may  be  unworthy  of  the  name,  and  as 
distant  from  them  in  merit  as  we  are  in  time,  yet 
as  professed  disciples  of  that  heavenly  Master,  we 
are  naturally  curious  to  learn  more  than  simply 
the  names  of  our  favored  predecessors.  We  would 
make  ourselves  acquainted  with  those  men  who 
saw,  and  heard,  and  touched,  and  lived  and  con- 
versed with,  that  holy  prophet  of  God,  for  whom 
we  feel  a  reverence  only  inferior  to  that  which  we 
entertain  toward  Him  who  sent  him. 

And  who  were  those,  we  would  ask,  in  the  sec- 
ond place,  who  were  appointed  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
publish  his  religion,  and  enabled  by  the  assistance 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  to  publish  it  successful- 
ly? Who  were  those,  who,  in  obedience  to  their 
Master,  went  out  into  all  nations,  teaching,  con- 
verting, and  baptizing,  and  planting  the  parent 
churches  of  our  faith  in  learned  Greece,  and  lord- 
ly Rome,  and  benighted  Africa,  and  among  those 
rude  people  of  the  North  from  whom  we  ourselves 
are  descended  ?  It  was  no  mean  work  in  which 
they  were  employed.  No  revolution  of  recorded 
time  can  equal  it  in  glory ;  for  thrones  were  sub- 
jected to  its  power,  and  the  poor  and  humble  of 
the  earth  were  raised  by  it  to  an  elevation  far 
higher  than  thrones.  They,  like  their  Lord,  were 
invested  with  a  control  over  the  operations  of  na- 
ture ;  and,  more  than  that,  they,  like  him,  and  by 
his  authority,  and  with  his  instruction,  founded 


36  THE   TWELVE. 

an  empire,  the  most  broad  and  lasting  which  has 
ever  existed,  over  the  human  mind.  Who  were 
they  ?  As  Christians,  as  subjects  of  that  empire, 
as  men  amazed,  at  the  same  time  that  we  are  re- 
joiced, at  what  we  have  heard  and  what  we  be- 
hold, we  are  impelled  to  inquire  who  they  were 
who  established  a  dominion  which  has  already 
covered  the  civilized  world,  and  is  apparently 
going  on,  with  ever-encroaching  steps,  to  spread 
itself  over  the  whole  earth.  If  the  lives  of  any 
men  are  interesting,  theirs  must  be  peculiarly  so. 
They  are  the  great  reformers,  the  great  con- 
querors, whose  empire  has  been  continually  in- 
creasing and  strengthening,  while  the  houses  and 
dynasties  of  heroes  and  kings  have  risen,  and 
flourished,  and  passed  away  into  forgetfulness  and 
ruin ;  the  only  empire  which  has  grown  more 
vigorous  and  more  hopeful  with  age,  because  the 
mind  and  the  heart  and  the  destiny  of  man,  and 
the  good  providence  of  God,  are  joined  to  sup- 
port and  perpetuate  it.  Who  were  these  men  ? 
No  elaborate  biography,  no  studied  panegyric, 
has  portrayed  to  us  the  lives  and  characters  of  the 
apostles  of  Christ.  In  their  own  condensed  and 
simple  writings,  and  in  the  quite  as  simple  book 
of  their  Acts,  composed  by  one  of  their  associates, 
we  must  glean  such  sketches  of  them  as  are  to  be 
found  in  connection  with  the  accounts  of  their 
Master  and  the  history  of  their  religion;  for  of 


THE  TWELVE.  37 

themselves,  as  individuals,  they  seldom  think  of 
speaking ;  absorbed  in  their  duty  and  devoted  to 
their  great  work,  the  idea  of  self-importance  or 
personal  fame  never  seems  to  have  entered  their 
minds.  We  shall  not,  however,  esteem  them  the 
less  because  they  were  faithful  to  their  calling, 
and  sought  not  the  praise  and  honor  of  men,  and 
postponed  their  own  glory  to  the  glory  of  God. 
And  although  our  just  curiosity  may  not  be  grat- 
ified by  a  full  and  detailed  portraiture  of  these 
eminent  men,  who  remembered  their  work,  and 
forgot  themselves,  yet  we  shall  meet  with  notices 
enough  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament 
to  enable  us  to  form  for  ourselves  an  outline  at 
least  of  some  of  their  lives  and  characters.  Of 
some  of  them  we  shall  find  more  abundant  ac- 
counts than  of  others ;  for  among  them,  as  well 
as  among  mankind  in  general,  there  was  undoubt- 
edly a  diversity  of  power,  which  caused  some  of 
them  to  stand  out  in  the  foreground  of  action, 
and  others  to  remain  comparatively  in  shade ; 
though  all  of  them  might  have  been  zealous,  use- 
ful, and  efficient,  and  most  probably  were  so. 

Though  the  sacred  writings  themselves  are  the 
only  sources  of  knowledge  on  this  subject  to 
which  we  may  give  implicit  credence,  yet  from 
other  early  documents  we  may  obtain  some  nar- 
ratives of  the  latter  days  of  the  apostles  which 
are  worthy  of  a  good  degree  of  faith.     Making 


38  THE  TWELVE. 

use,  therefore,  of  such  authorities  as  are  within 
my  reach,  I  shall  proceed  to  give  some  account 
of  the  twelve  disciples  of  our  Lord  ;  pursuing  the 
order  in  which  they  are  arranged  by  Matthew, 
only  because  his  catalogue  is  the  first  which  oc- 
curs in  the  common  collocation  of  the  Gospel 
histories. 


SIMON    PETER. 

Simon,  who  also  received  from  our  Lord  the  ap- 
pellation of  Peter,  is  invariably  the  first  named  on 
all  the  four  lists  of  the  apostles,  and  was,  on  sev- 
eral accounts,  the  chief  of  their  company.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  who  was  called  to  be  a  disci- 
ple ;  though  not  the  very  first,  for  Andrew  his 
brother  appears  to  have  been  called  before  him, 
or  at  least  at  the  same  time  with  him.  He  was 
distinguished  above  the  rest  by  the  solemn  predic- 
tions and  trusts  of  his  Master,  by  his  uncommon 
zeal,  and  by  his  strong  natural  talents.  He  is 
altogether  not  only  a  conspicuous  disciple,  but 
a  remarkable  man.  The  sacred  historians  give 
us  more  copious  accounts  of  him  than  of  the 
other  apostles,  and  a  distinct  conception  of  his 
character  may  be  gained  from  what  they  re- 
late. 

He  was,  as  is  stated  two  or  three  times  in  the 
Gospels,  the  son  of  John  or  Jona,  who  was  proba- 
bly, like  his  children,  a  fisherman.     The  family^ 
had  lived  in  the  town  of  Bethsaida,  on  the  north- 
western side  of  the  lake  of  Genesareth,  otherwise 


40  SIMON   PETER. 

called  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  or  the  sea  of  Galilee,* 
where  Peter  was  born ;  but  they  afterwards  seem 
to  have  removed  to  the  neighboring  city  of  Caper- 
naum, and  then  consisted,  as  far  as  we  can  ascer- 
tain, of  Simon  himself,  his  brother,  and  his  father, 
his  wife,  and  her  mother.  When  Galilee  was  the 
scene  of  our  Saviour's  ministry,  Capernaum  was 
the  place  of  his  most  constant  abode ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  his  resort  to  it  was  determined  in 
some  measure  by  its  being  the  residence  of  Peter, 
in  whose  house  he  is  thought  to  have  lodged. 

As  we  learn  from  the  Evangelist  John,  Simon 
was  acquainted  with  Jesus,  and  had  heard  him 
attentively,  before  he  became  one  of  the  selected 
disciples.  His  brother  Andrew  was  already  one 
of  the  disciples  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  was 
standing  with  a  fellow-disciple  in  company  with 
their  master,  at  a  time  when  Jesus  was  passing 
by.  Looking  upon  him  as  he  walked,  John,  by 
whom  he  had  recently  been  baptized,  exclaimed, 
"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  !  "  Upon  this,  the  two 
followed  him,  and,  on  the  invitation  of  Jesus,  went 
with  him  to  his  dwelling-place,  and  abode  with 
him  that  day.  Convinced  -of  the  justice  of  his 
claims,  Andrew  sought  for  his  brother  Simon,  and 

*  This  lake  took  its  name  of  Galilee  from  the  province  in  which 
it  was  situated,  and  Genesareth  and  Tiberias  from  towns  on  its 
coast.  It  was  more  anciently  called  the  sea  of  Chinnereth.  Numb, 
xxxiv.  11 ;  Josh.  xiii.  27. 


SIMON   PETER.  41 

saying  to  him,  "  We  have  found  the  Messias,  or 
Christ,"  he  brought  him  to  Jesus.  And  when 
Jesus  beheld  them,  he  said,  "  Thou  art  Simon, 
the  son  of  Jona ;  thou  shalt  be  called-  Cephas,' ' 
which  is  by  interpretation  into  the  Greek,  Petra, 
and  into  English,  a  Rock.  By  this  manner  of 
receiving  Simon,  Jesus  manifested  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  him,  and  had  formed  an  estimate 
of  his  character ;  that  he  had  marked  him  as  one 
who  was  fitted  by  his  energy  and  activity  to  estab- 
lish his  religion  on  durable  foundations  ;  that  even 
now  he  intended  him  for  a  great  work.  The 
brothers  may  at  this  early  period  be  considered  as 
disciples  or  pupils  of  Jesus,  though  not  yet  chos- 
en, according  to  the  language  of  St.  Mark,  to  "  be 
with  him  always  " ;  for  they  still  continued  fish- 
ermen. It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  the  two  who 
were  first  called  to  be  disciples  were  united 
together  by  the  tie  of  natural  brotherhood  ;  that 
the  one  brother  led  the  other  to  the  Saviour ;  that 
they  pursued  their  simple  occupation  together ; 
and  that  together  they  were  called  from  that  sim- 
ple occupation  to  become  fishers  of  men. 

That  event  took  place  a  short  time  after,  in  the 
following  manner.  As  Jesus  stood  by  the  lake, 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  who  were  pressing  upon 
him  to  hear  the  word  of  God,  he  saw  Simon  and 
Andrew,  in  the  practice  of  their  usual  occupation, 
and  washing  their  nets  on  the  shore.     He  entered 


42  SIMON  PETEK. 

their  vessel,  and  prayed  them  to  thrust  out  a  little 
from  the  land,  that  he  might  the  more  convenient- 
ly teach  the  people.  Then,  having  finished  his 
discourse,  he  bade  them  launch  out  into  the  deep, 
and  let  down  their  net  for  a  draught  of  fishes.  It 
is  now  that  we  begin  to  perceive  the  ardent,  affec- 
tionate, and  confiding  character  of  Peter.  Though 
he  and  his  companions  had  been  toiling  through 
the  night  without  the  least  success,  yet  he  at  once 
consented  to  make  another  effort,  in  obedience  to 
the  wishes  of  Jesus.  "  Nevertheless,  at  thy  word," 
he  says,  "  I  will  let  down  the  net."  This  was  no 
sooner  done  than  such  a  multitude  of  fishes  were 
enclosed,  that  the  net  began  to  break,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  call  their  partners,  who  were  in 
another  ship,  to  assist  them,  and  both  ships  were 
so  filled  with  what  they  drew  in  as  to  be  near 
sinking.  On  beholding  this,  Simon  Peter,  ever  a 
man  of  impulses,  "  fell  down  at  Jesus'  knees,  say- 
ing, Depart  from  me,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  0 
Lord."  In  a  transport  of  fearful  humility  he  be- 
seeches Jesus  to  leave  him,  and  not  to  stay  with 
one  so  unworthy  of  his  holy  and  wonderful  pres- 
ence. But  Jesus,  instead  of  leaving  him,  now 
gives  him  the  call  to  his  apostleship,  saying  to 
him,  "  Fear  not ;  from  henceforth  thou  shalt  catch 
men  "  ;  or,  as  the  other  evangelists  write,  applying 
the  words  to  both  the  brethren,  "  I  will  make  you 
fishers  of  men."     Readily  accepting  the  invitation 


SIMON   PETER.  43 

to  become  the  constant  companions  of  the  Mes- 
siah, and  perhaps  secretly  expecting  worldly  ad- 
vantage from  their  connection  with  so  great  a 
personage,  they  straightway  left  all,  their  proper- 
ty, their  home,  and  their  former  friends,  and  fol- 
lowed him. 

Peter's  character  now  rapidly  unfolds  itself;  a 
character  of  strong  and  contrasted  features  ;  bold, 
honest,  and  vehement,  and  yet  wavering  and  in- 
constant ;  now  forward  and  daring  before  all  his 
companions,  and  now  more  timid  than  any  of 
them.  Wherever  we  meet  with  him,  it  is  the  same 
Simon  that  we  see ;  distinguished  alike  for  high 
and  generous  virtues,  and  for  faults  inconsistent 
with  those  virtues,  and  altogether  unworthy  of 
them.  Strength  and  weakness,  courage  and  ir- 
resolution, impetuosity  and  indecision,  are  mixed 
up  in  his  temperament  in  a  striking  and  yet  per- 
fectly natural  combination  ;  and  at  the  bottom  of 
the  whole  there  is  a  purity  of  feeling,  and  an 
integrity  of  purpose,  which  endear  him  to  his 
Master,  and  fit  him  at  last  for  his  important 
destination  and  office. 

One  of  the  occasions  which  may  be  noticed  as 
developing  these  characteristics  is  that  of  his  at- 
tempt to  walk  on  the  sea  to  meet  Jesus.  We  are 
informed  that  after  the  miracle  of  the  loaves  and 
fishes,  which  took  place  on  one  side  of  the  lake, 
Jesus  commanded  his  disciples  to  pass  over  to  the 


44  SIMON   PETER. 

other  in  a  vessel,  while  he  remained  to  send  the 
multitude  away.  A  storm  overtook  the  ship  when 
she  was  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and,  while  she 
was  tossing  on  the  waves,  Jesus  came  to  them  in 
the  fourth  watch  of  the  night,  or  towards  morn- 
ing, walking  on  the  sea,  as  on  dry  land.  At  this 
extraordinary  sight  the  disciples  were  troubled, 
saying,  "  It  is  a  spirit "  ;  and  to  such  a  height 
was  their  terror  excited,  that  they  cried  out  for 
fear.  But  Jesus  immediately  spoke  to  them,  and 
bade  them  not  to  be  afraid,  for  it  was  himself. 
No  sooner  does  Peter  hear  his  voice,  than  he  not 
only  dismisses  his  fear,  but  gives  loose  to  his  en- 
thusiasm, and  unwilling  to  wait  till  his  Master 
reaches  the  vessel,  and  perhaps,  too,  tempted  a  lit- 
tle to  display  his  faith,  and  do  some  great  thing, 
he  exclaims,  before  the  others  have  recovered  the 
use  of  their  speech,  "  Lord,  if  it  be  thou,  bid  me 
come  unto  thee  on  the  water."  And  Jesus,  know- 
ing him  perfectly,  and  willing  at  once  to  gratify, 
to  test,  and  to  instruct  him,  said,  "  Come."  Pe- 
ter descends  from  the  ship,  and  walks  towards  his 
Master.  But  the  storm  was  stronger  than  his 
trust ;  and  when  he  felt  himself  out,  so  strangely 
and  awfully,  amidst  the  dashing  foam  and  the 
boisterous  wind,  he  was  afraid,  and  he  forgot  his 
confidence  ;  and  his  faith,  which  hitherto  had 
borne  him  up,  grew  faint  and  unable  to  hold  him, 
and,  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried  again,  and  with 


SIMON  PETER.  45 

the  voice  of  despair,  to  Jesus,  "  Lord,  save  me  !  " 
"  And  immediately  Jesus  stretched  forth  his  hand 
and  caught  him,  and  said  unto  him,  0  thou  of 
little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?  "  That 
was  all  the  Saviour  said  ;  that  mild  rebuke,  so 
unlike  the  denunciations  which  his  professed  fol- 
lowers in  other  ages  have  launched  at  what  they 
have  been  pleased  to  call,  but  could  not  with  cer- 
tainty know  to  be,  deficiencies  of  faith  ;  that  mild 
rebuke  from  him  who  did  know  all  things  was 
the  only  punishment  for  the  failing  faith  of 
the  disciple, — u  Wherefore  didst  thou  doubt?  " 
Wherefore,  after  seeing  what  thou  hast  seen,  and 
hearing  what  thou  hast  heard,  couldst  thou 
doubt?  And  he  raised  the  self-convicted  man, 
and  brought  him  into  the  ship,  and  "  the  wind 
ceased." 

Notwithstanding  Simon's  occasional  misgivings 
and  temporary  weaknesses,  his  fidelity  was  in  the 
main  firm  and  certain,  because  it  was  founded  on 
the  real  goodness  and  tenderness  of  his  nature. 
There  was  a  time,  when,  as  related  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  many  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  "  went  back,  and  walked  no  more 
with  him,"  because  he  spoke  to  them  obscurely 
and  figuratively  of  his  office  and  kingdom,  and 
because,  from  what  they  did  understand,  they 
began  to  suspect  that  there  was  something  much 
more  spiritual  and  much  less  lucrative  and  splen- 


il 


46  SIMON   PETER. 

did  in  his  proposed  dominion  than  suited  with 
their  earthly  conceptions.  They  went  back, 
therefore,  and  walked  no  more  with  him.  Then 
said  Jesus  unto  the  twelve,  his  chosen  twelve, 
"  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?  "  To  whose  heart,  of 
those  twelve  hearts,  does  the  affecting  appeal  first 
find  its  way  ?  Who  answers  it  first  ?  The  same 
man  who  but  just  now  was  afraid  of  the  wind. 
a  Then  Simon  Peter  answered  him,  Lord,  to  whom 
shall  we  go  ?  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life. 
And  we  believe  and  are  sure  that  thou  art  that 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  Generous, 
full-hearted,  though  too  inconstant  disciple ! 
Though  others  desert  that  good  and  gentle  Mas- 
ter, thou  wilt  not  leave  him.  In  this  time  of 
trial  thy  heart  has  kept  thee  right.  Thou  art 
like  some  tall  and  comely  tree,  whose  pliant  trunk 
is  swayed  hither  and  thither  by  the  passing  storm, 
but  whose  tenacious  root  spreads  wide  abroad, 
and  pierces  deep  beneath,  and  still  reclaims  the 
waving  plant,  and  binds  it  firmly  to  the  soil  it 
loves. 

At  yet  another  time  also,  Peter  made  the  same 
open  and  bold  confession.  It  was  when  Jesus, 
having  asked  his  disciples  whom  men  said  that  he 
was,  and  having  received  their  answer,  put  the 
question  to  them,  saying,  "  But  whom  say  ye  that 
I  am?  "  Again  it  is  the  ardent  Simon  who  ad^ 
vances  before  the  rest,  and  answers  unhesitatingly, 


SIMON   PETER.  47 

"  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  |  / 

This  renewed  proof  of  his  attachment  and  faith 
draws  forth  the  marked  approbation  of  his  Master, 
who  answered  him  and  said,  "  Blessed  art  thou, 
Simon,  son  of  Jon  a ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath 
not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  my  Father  who  is 
in  heaven.  The  Spirit  of  God,  himself,  hath  en- 
lightened thee.  And  I  say  also  unto  thee,  that 
thou  art  Peter.  I  have  already  called  thee  a 
rock,  and  upon  this  rock  will  I  build  my  church, 
and  the  gates  of  the  place  of  death  shall  not  pre- 
vail against  it.  Upon  thy  exertions  shall  the 
foundations  of  my  church  be  laid,  and  laid  so 
strongly  that  they  shall  never  be  overturned  nor 
destroyed.  And  I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven ; 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be 
loosed  in  heaven." 

That  by  these  words  of  Jesus  a  certain  degree 
of  apostolic  pre-eminence  was  conferred  on  Peter, 
I  think  is  too  plain  to  be  disputed ;  though  some 
over-zealous  Protestants  have  denied  the  fact. 
But  why  they  should  wish  to  deny  it,  I  cannot 
see  ;  for  I  cannot  see  how  the  primacy  which  his 
Lord  chose  to  confer  on  him  should  disturb  them ; 
nor  can  I  see,  on  the  other  hand,  how  that  pri- 
macy, being  fully  admitted,  can  be  an  argument 
for  the  papal  supremacy.     If  Peter  was  thought 


48     %  SIMON   PETER. 

by  his  Master  worthy  of  standing  first  among  his 
disciples,  who  shall  say.  that  he  did  not  deserve 
the  dignity  ?  But  what  was  the  nature  of  that 
dignity  ?  "  On  this  rock  will  I  build  my  church," 
said  Jesus.  The  Christian  Church  was  not  built 
on  Peter  alone,  nor  by  him  alone  ;  for  all  the 
apostles  contributed  to  the  edifice  ;  but  to  Peter 
/  was  commissioned  the  duty  of  first  declaring  the 
Gospel  to  the  Jews,  and  indeed,  by  a  special  vision, 
to  the  Gentiles  also  ;  and  the  centurion  and  his 
family,  converted  and  baptized  by  him,  were  the 
first  fruits  of  Christianity  out  of  the  Jewish  pale. 
He  was,  therefore,  the  foundation  of  the  Church, — 
the  rock  on  which  its  beginnings  were  laid.  But 
there  is  nothing  transferable  in  this  part  of  his 
dignity,  at  least.  The  foundations  of  the  Church 
are  not  to  be  laid  twice  and  thrice,  and  over  and 
over  again,  because  a  series  of  men  calling  them- 
selves popes  claim  to  be  his  successors.  Neither 
is  there  any  promise  of  transmitting  the  keys  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which  signify  only  that 
authority  which  Peter,  as  an  accredited  apostle  of 
Christ,  was  to  have  in  his  ministry.  He  was  em- 
powered to  act  in  general  as  an  ambassador  from 
Heaven  ;  to  enact  regulations,  to  establish  and  to 
break  down,  to  do  and  to  undo,  with  the  concur- 
rence and  power  of  the  Head  of  the  Church  him 
self.  And  this  authority,  let  it  be  remembered, 
was  committed  to  all  the  rest  of  the  apostles  in 


SIMON  PETER.  49 

precisely  the  same  words  ;  for  they  also  were  to 
preach  their  Master's  doctrine  to  the  world,  and 
needed  his  delegated  power  in  things  pertaining 
to  his  kingdom.  To  them  also  did  he  say,  there- 
fore, "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  bind  on  earth  shall  be 
bound  in  heaven ;  and  whatsoever  ye  shall  loose 
on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven."  The  pre- 
eminence of  Peter,  then,  appears  to  be  simply  a 
precedence  among  his  brethren  and  equals,  which 
was  conceded  to  his  abilities  and  energy ;  and  a 
preference  which  was  bestowed  on  him  as  a  teach- 
er of  the  religion  of  Christ.  But  there  is  no 
promise,  no  intimation,  in  the  Scriptures,  that 
even  this  pre-eminence  was  to  descend  on  other 
men ;  nor  does  the  similarity  between  the  popes 
of  Rome  and  Simon  Peter  of  Bethsaida — between 
the  triple-crowned  sovereigns  of  Christendom,  who 
once  set  their  feet  on  kings'  necks,  and  the  plain 
fisherman  of  the  sea  of  Galilee  —  seem  to  be,  in 
any  point  of  view,  very  close  or  striking. 

Whatever  elation  of  heart  may  have  been  pro- 
duced in  Peter  by  the  praise  of  a  beloved  Master, 
it  was  almost  immediately  doomed  to  be  checked 
and  mortified  by  the  same  impartial  voice  ;  for  in 
the  very  chapter  which  records  this  last  occur- 
rence, we  are  told  that  the  disciple  drew  upon  him- 
self one  of  the  severest  rebukes  which  Jesus  ever 
uttered.  "  From  that  time  forth,"  says  the  Evan- 
gelist, "  began  Jesus  to  show  unto  his  disciples, 

3  D 


50  SIMON   PETER. 

how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and  suffer 
many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief  priests  and 
scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  be  raised  again  the 
third  day."  Intimations  of  this  kind  were  always 
peculiarly  unwelcome  and  enigmatical  to  the  dis- 
ciples ;  and  on  this  occasion  Peter  came  forward 
as  usual,  and  with  even  more  than  his  usual 
warmth  took  up  his  Master,  and  began  to  rebuke 
him,  saying,  "  Be  it  far  from  thee,  Lord ;  this 
shall  not  be  unto  thee."  Though  he  had  so  lately 
acknowledged  Jesus  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  had 
adhered  to  him  in  his  humble  and  unkingly  con- 
dition, yet  even  he  had  not  wholly  disjoined  the 
ideas  of  worldly  power  and  dignity  from  the  per- 
son and  office  of  the  expected  Saviour ;  and  the 
thought  of  his  violent  and  shameful  death  was 
altogether  shocking  to  him.  But  Jesus  was  par- 
ticularly anxious  to  crush  these  misapprehensions, 
and  to  familiarize  his  followers  to  his  real  situa- 
tion and  his  approaching  and  inevitable  fate.  He 
therefore  thought  proper  before  them  all  to  ex- 
press, in  a  manner  which  might  make  them  feel, 
how  earnest  his  disapprobation  was  of  their  tem- 
poral expectations  and  fancies.  "  He  turned,  and 
said  unto  Peter,  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan 
[tempter,  adversary]  ;  thou  art  an  offence  unto 
me ;  for  thou  savorest  not  the  things  that  be  of 
God,  but  those  that  be  of  men."  The  disciples 
had  yet  to  learn,  Simon  Peter  had  yet  to  learn, 


SIMON   PETER.  51 

how  pure,  unearthly,  and  immortal  that  religion 
was  which  they  were  appointed  one  day  to  pro- 
mulgate ;  how  it  associated  itself  more  with  human 
suffering  than  with  human  glory  and  pride  ;  more 
with  the  secret  sympathies  and  internal  affections, 
much  more  than  with  the  outward  adornments 
of  our  nature ;  and  the  early  death  of  their  Mas- 
ter—  an  event  which  they  could  not  bear  to 
think,  and  could  hardly  conceive  of,  but  which  he, 
the  Divine  Master,  saw  with  a  clear  and  steady 
vision  —  was  yet  to  teach  them  that  the  infant 
doctrine  which  was  to  go  through  the  world,  con- 
soling the  sorrows  of  the  mourner,  and  pouring 
balm  into  wounded  bosoms,  was  itself  first  to  be 
nurtured  with  tears  and  baptized  in  blood. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Peter  received  his  Mas- 
ter's rebuke  properly,  for  we  find  that  he  was  still 
distinguished  and  confided  in  by  him.     He,  to- 11 
gether  with  James  and  John,  was  selected  to  wit-  l\ 
ness  the  transfiguration  on  the  mount ;    and  in 
tne   same   company  he   had   also   witnessed   the  / 
resurrection  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus.     It  ap- 
pears, moreover,  that  about  this  time  he  and  his 
Lord  dwelt  together  at  Capernaum,  in  the  same 
house;    for  when   the   gatherers   of  the.  annual 
tribute  came  to  Peter,  he  went  into  the  house, 
and  was  there  told  by  Jesus  how  he  was  to  obtain 
a  piece  of  money  which  would  pay  for  them  both. 
It  would   appear,  therefore,  that   they  lived  to- 


52  SIMON   PETER. 

gether,  and,  if  so,  that  the  disciple  was  high  in 
the  favor  and  confidence  of  his  Master.     He  seems 

(also  to  have  exercised  a  sort  of  conceded  pre- 
eminence among  the  twelve,  as  we  often  find  him 
speaking  in  their  name  and  behalf,  both  in  asking 
and  in  answering  questions.  His  rank  is  now 
evidently  fixed.  He  is  honored  by  his  Master, 
notwithstanding  his  imperfections,  and  he  is  the 
head  of  the  apostles,  both  from  appointment  and 
character. 

[jO  But  his  fault  of  impetuosity  is  not  yet  mended. 

\\j  It  is  one  of  the  last  faults,  perhaps,  which  ever 
•is  mended,  because  it  is  constitutional.  On  that 
most  solemn  night  of  the  last  supper,  Jesus,  in 
order  that  he  might  at  once  testily  his  affection 
for  his  disciples,  whom  he  loved  unto  the  end, 
and  show  them  also  an  example  of  practical 
humility,  began  to  wash  their  feet,  as  if  lie  had 
been  their  servant.  When  he  came  to  Peter, 
that  disciple,  hurt  and  grieved  that  his  Master 
should  undertake  so  menial  an  office,  gives  way 
to  his  feelings,  again  presumes  to  dictate  to  that 
very  Master,  and  exclaims,  "  Lord,  dost  thou  wash 
my  feet  ?  "  Jesus  condescends  to  expostulate 
with  him,  and  to  assure  him  that  he  would  soon 
explain  to  him  the  act  which  now  appeared  so 
strange.  "  What  I  do,  thou  knowest  not  now, 
but  thou  shalt  know  hereafter."  But  Peter  will 
not  yield,  nor  listen,  but  answers,  "Thou  shalt 


SIMON  PETER.  53 

never  wash  my  feet."  To  which  Jesus  replies, 
f  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  with  me." 
That  is,  "  If  you  will  not  receive  this  symbolical 
lesson  of  humility  ;  if  you  cannot  cease  your  dis- 
putes about  who  shall  be  greatest  in  my  king- 
dom ;  if  you  will  not  divest  yourselves  of  your 
notions  of  place  and  dignity,  and  become  lowly, 
meek,  and  mutually  kind,  as  my  disciples  ought 
to  be,  and  must  be,  if  they  desire  my  approba- 
tion, then  I  must  discard  you  from  my  service, 
and  deprive  you  of  my  friendship."  Peter,  sub- 
dued at  the  bare  intimation  of  forfeiting  his  Mas- 
ter's esteem,  and  again  driven  beyond  the  just 
limits  of  duty  by  the  sudden  revulsion  of  his  un- 
governed  feelings,  cries  out,  "  Lord,  not  my  feet 
only,  but  my  hands  and  my  head.  Wash  me 
all  over,  if  it  be  thy  will,  only  take  not  from  me 
thy  love."  How  perfectly  natural  is  the  whole 
of  this  scene ;  how  consistent  with  the  previous 
character  of  Peter ;  how  just  to  the  character  of 
his  Lord ! 

And  now  the  time  draws  near  when  the  first 
of  the  apostles  is  to  be  tried  more  severely  and 
to  fall  more  sadly  than  ever.  Soon  after  Jesus 
had  washed  his  disciples'  feet,  he  began  to  talk 
to  them,  in  a  most  affecting  strain,  of  his  speedy 
death  and  his  return  to  his  Father.  Peter's  feel- 
ings are  again  alarmed,  and  he  declares  that, 
wherever  his  Master  may  go,  he  will  follow  him, 


<t 


54  SIMON   PETER. 

and  go  with  him,  even  into  prison  and  to  death. 
"  Though  all  men  shall  be  offended  because  of 
thee,  yet  I  will  never  be  offended ;  I  will  lay 
down  my  life  for  thy  sake."  Jesus,  better  aware 
of  his  disciple's  weakness,  and  knowing  that  it 
would  not  be  equal  to  the  approaching  trial, 
mournfully  answered,  "  Wilt  thou  lay  down  thy 
life  for  my  sake  ?  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
the  cock  shall  not  crow  till  thou  hast  denied  me 
thrice. "  And  yet  the  ardent  disciple  spoke  the 
more  vehemently,  and  said,  "  Though  1  should 
die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee." 

Let  us  mark  the  result.  After  discoursing  to 
his  disciples,  in  those  beautiful  words  which  are 
to  be  found  in  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth,  and  six- 
teenth chapters  of  the  Gospel  of  John,  Jesus  went 
out  with  them,  and,  coming  to  a  place  which  was 
named  Gethsemane,  left  them  there,  and,  taking 
with  him  Peter,  James,  and  John,  to  watch  with 
him,  withdrew  apart  to  pray  to  his  Father.  When 
he  returned  to  these  favored  three,  he  found 
them,  not  watching,  but  asleep.  It  was  towards 
morning  ;  and  with  frames  oppressed  with  fatigue, 
and  minds  made  heavy  with  sorrow,  they  had  not 
been  able  to  watch  with  their  suffering  and  agon- 
ized Lord  during  his  short  absence,  but  had  sunk 
down  in  a  leaden  slumber.  More  in  pity  than  in 
wrath,  the  Saviour,  addressing  himself  particular- 
ly to  Peter,  as  the  individual  who  had  boasted 


SIMON   PETER.  55 

the  loudest,  and  had  the  most  need  of  warning, 
said  to  him,  "  What !  could  ye  not  watch  withes) 
me  one  hour?  After  all  your  professions,  can^' 
you  not  banish  sleep,  and  prove  your  attachment, 
by  a  vigil,  for  my  sake,  of  one  short  hour  ? 
Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  tempta- 
tion ;  the  spirit  indeed  is  full  of  courage,  but  the 
flesh  is  weak."  Again  and  again  he  returns  to 
them,  and  still  finds  them  sleeping.  Then  comes 
the  traitor  Judas,  with  his  band,  and  they  are 
roused  effectually ;  and  Peter,  who  could  not 
watch  for  his  Master  at  his  earnest  request,  under- 
takes, without  his  authority,  to  fight  for  him ; 
and  he  drew  his  sword,  and  smote  a  servant  of 
the  high  priest,  and  cut  off  his  ear.  So  much 
easier  is  it  to  fight  than  to  be  dutiful ;  and  so 
much  the  more  readily  could  Peter  obey  the 
impulses  of  his  passions  than  the  behest  of  his 
Lord.  Jesus  calmly  reproves  the  offender,  and 
then  all  his  disciples  forsook  him  and  fled. 

There  were  two,  however,  who  did  not  wholly 
forsake  him ;  but  still,  though  at  a  distance,  fol- 
lowed him.     One  of  these  two  was  Peter ;  he  sin- 
cerely loved  his  Master,  and,  though  just  rebuked  \ 
by  him,  he  resolves  not  to  lose  sight  of  him,  but  jj 
follows  him  afar  off,  even  into  the  court  of  the// 
high  priest's  house.     There,  trembling,  anxious, 
and  vibrating  between  fear  and  affection,  he  takes 
his  seat  with  the  servants  at  the  fire.     He  does 


56  SIMON   PETER. 

not  remain  there  long  unsuspected,  but  is  charged 
with  being  one  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.  His 
fear  preponderates ;  his  bold  resolution,  so  lately 
formed,  gave  way  ;  he  denies  all  knowledge  of  his 
Master.  Yes,  Simon  Peter,  the  leader  of  the 
twelve,  the  rock  of  the  Church,  the  confidant  of 
Jesus,  who  walked  on  the  sea,  who  held  the  spir- 
itual keys,  who  saw  the  dead  raised  up,  who  wit- 
nessed the  glorious  transfiguration,  who  declared 
himself  but  just  now  ready  to  be  bound,  and  led 
to  death  for  his  Master,  now  sits  among  menials, 
denying  him  to  menials !  with  the  mingled  flush 
of  dread  and  shame  upon  his  cheek,  denying,  to  a 
set  of  scoffing  hirelings  of  a  corrupt  palace,  that 
he  ever  knew  that  kind  and  trusting  Master  whom 
he  had  so  lately  acknowledged  to  be  the  princely 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  the  King  of  Heaven  !  By  and 
by,  and  from  another  quarter,  he  is  again  attacked 
with  the  same  charge,  —  u  Thou  also  wast  with 
Jesus  of  Nazareth. "  Having  committed  himself 
once,  and  not  having  recovered  from  his  confusion 
and  fear,  detected,  and  yet  obstinate,  struggling 
between  contrition  and  wrath,  a  deep  sense  of  hu- 
miliation and  a  strong  dread  of  exposure,  he  again 
"  denied  before  them  all,  saying,  I  know  not  what 
thou  sayest." 

There  are  some  apparent  discrepancies  in  the 
several  accounts  given  by  the  evangelists  of  Pe- 
ter's denial  of  his  Master.     But  they  are  only 


SIMON  PETER.  57 

apparent ;  and  indeed  the  veracity  of  the  sacred 
writers  is  rather  confirmed  by  these  slight  differ- 
ences, which  ought  to  be  expected  in  separate 
narratives  of  what  must  necessarily  have  been  a 
confused  and  hurried  scene.  John,  for  instance, 
says  that  Peter  stood  with  the  officers  at  the  fire, 
and  Matthew  and  Mark  say  that  he  sat.  Doubt- 
less he  sat  at  one  time  and  stood  at  another,  in 
the  agitation  he  was  in,  and  therefore  both  rela- 
tions are  not  only  true,  but  more  strikingly  au- 
thentic from  their  very  appearance  of  discrepancy. 
Again,  there  is  a  difference  with  regard  to  the 
persons  who  are  represented  as  having  at  several 
times  accused  Peter.  Now,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  though  the  apostle  made  but  three  distinct 
denials,  he  was  yet  accused  by  many,  who  in  a 
tumultuous  manner  may  have  raised  their  voices 
against  him,  and  thus  rendered  it  doubtful  who 
was  the  prominent  assailant  among  a  number  of 
clamorous  witnesses.  In  short,  the  accounts  of 
the  evangelists  are  evidently  but  sketches  of  a 
scene  in  which  many  things  occurred  which  are 
not  related  by  either,  and  some  things  which  are 
recorded  by  one,  though  omitted  by  another.  The 
main  facts,  however,  agree  in  all ;  and  this  being 
the  case,  the  variations  accord  so  well  with  the 
character  of  the  scene  described,  and  the  agitation 
which  all  parties  must  have  been  in,  that  they 
only  add  truth  to  truth. 


58  SIMON  PETER. 

Only  imagine  the  scene !  Jesus,  standing 
bound,  as  if  he  had  been  a  criminal,  surrounded 
by  soldiers  and  exulting  enemies,  and  questioned 
like  an  apprehended  culprit  by  the  high  priest, 
but  dignified,  collected,  and  prepared  for  the 
worst ;  while  just  below  is  his  chief  disciple,  in 
the  midst  of  a  servile  crowd,  agonized  with  terror, 
and  endeavoring  with  all  his  native  vehemence, 
and  with  a  native  accent  too,  which  of  itself  con- 
tradicts him,  to  clear  himself  before  his  contempti- 
ble accusers  from  the  imputation  of  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  one  whom  he  had  been  following 
daily  and  hourly  for  months,  and  whom,  but  a  few 
moments  ago,  he  had  promised  to  follow  to  prison 
and  to  death  !  But  the  measure  of  his  degrada- 
tion is  not  yet  full ;  for  again,  the  third  time,  is 
the  charge  repeated ;  "  Surely,  thou  also  art  one 
of  them,  for  thy  speech  betray eth  thee."  And 
then,  as  others  are  apt  to  do,  who  become  more 
boisterous  the  more  they  are  in  the  wrong  and  the 
nearer  they  are  to  detection,  and  who  call  the  God 
of  truth  to  witness  their  transgressions  of  truth, 
the  unhappy  man  "  began  to  curse  and  to  swear, 
saying,  I  know  not  the  man.  And  immediately 
the  cock  crew.',  How  dark  is  the  account  now 
of  disgrace  and  crime  against  the  fallen  disciple ! 
Ingratitude,  cowardice,  falsehood,  profanity !  It 
was  the  lowest  fall ;  and,  happily,  it  was  the  last. 
"  The   Lord   turned,   and   looked   upon    Peter.', 


SIMON  PETER.  59 

What  a  volume  of  pathos  and  eloquence  is  con- 
tained in  those  few  simple  words !  His  Lord 
looked  upon  him,  "  and  with  that  gracious  and 
chiding  look  called  him  back  to  himself  and  him." 
He  remembered  all,  —  remembered  his  Master's 
love,  remembered  his  Master's  warning,  remem- 
bered his  own  duty.  Conviction  falls  upon  him, 
repentance  overwhelms  him,  and  he  went  out  and 
wept  bitterly. 

"  What  language  in  that  look  !     Swifter  than  thought 
The  apostle's  eye  it  caught, 
And  sank  into  his  very  soul ! 
Through  every  vein  a  thrilling  tremor  crept ; 
Away  he  stole, 

And  wept  ; 
Bitterly  he  wept !  * 

From  this  time  till  after  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus, 
we  hear  no  more  of  Peter.  He  probably  passed 
this  distressing  interval  in  remorse  and  tears ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  his  repentance  was  entire 
and  sincere,  and  that  his  character  was  much  im-u 
proved  and  purified  by  the  late  fiery  trial  through  | 
which  it  had  been  led  ;  for  we  find  that  Jesus,  on 
the  morning  of  his  resurrection,  after  he  had 
shown  himself  to  Mary  Magdalene,  appeared  also 
to  Peter,  according  to  an  especial  message  which 
he  had  sent  to  him  by  an  angel,  in  testimony  of 
his  continued  confidence  in  him.*      That  Peter 

*  The  message  was  delivered  by  the  angel  to  the  Marys,  who 
reported  it  to  Peter.     The  angel,  or  young  man  clothed  in  white, 


60  SIMON   PETER. 

had  returned  to  his  allegiance  is  manifest  from 
the  fact  that  he  was  the  first  of  the  male  disciples 
who  descended  into  the  tomb  wherein  the  Saviour 
had  been  laid. 

Some  days  afterwards,  as  several  of  the  disciples 
were  fishing  together  in  a  vessel,  on  the  sea  of 
Tiberias,  Jesus  appeared  to  them  on  the  shore. 
On  this  occasion  we  may  again  observe  a  symp- 
tom of  Peter's  characteristic  ardor.  No  sooner 
had  he  understood  from  John  that  it  was  the  Lord 
who  stood  on  the  shore,  and  had  been  speaking 
with  them,  than  he  girt  his  fisher's  coat  about 
him,  cast  himself  into  the  sea,  and  in  this  manner 
gained  the  land,  while  the  rest  came  after  him  in 
the  vessel.  When  they  had  all  dined  on  the  fish 
which  had  been  taken,  Jesus  required  of  Peter 
that  thrice-repeated  assurance  of  his  love  in  which 
a  fanciful  interpreter  would  discover  a  direct  allu- 
sion to  the  late  thrice-repeated  denial.  On  receiv- 
ing each  assurance,  his  Lord  gives  him  an  especial 
charge  to  feed  his  sheep.     He  then  signified  to 

says  to  the  women,  "  Tell  his  disciples,  and  Peter,  that  he  goeth 
befoi-e  you  into  Galilee ;  there  shall  ye  see  him,  as  he  said  unto 
you."  What  a  touching  pledge  of  forgiveness  and  reconciliation! 
The  moral  to  he  derived  from  the  history  of  Peter's  fall  is  thus 
well  and  concisely  brought  home  to  us  in  the  following  verse  by 
Cowper :  — 

"  Beware  of  Peter's  word, 

Nor  confidently  say 
*  I  never  will  deny  thee,  Lord,' 

But,  '  Grant  I  never  may ! ' " 


SIMON  PETER.  61 

him,  though  darkly,  by  what  death  he  should  glo- 
rify God;  but  refused  to  gratify  his  curiosity 
respecting  the  fate  of  his  fellow-disciple  John. 

In  the  Gospels  we  have  no  further  information 
respecting  this  apostle.  On  turning  to  the  Book 
of  Acts,  however,  he  is  immediately  presented  to 
us  in  his  former  rank  and  station,  as  chief  of  the 
apostles,  speaking  in  their  name,  and  presiding  at 
their  meetings.  It  is  he  who  proposes  that  the 
vacated  place  of  Judas  Iscariot  should  be  supplied 
by  lot.  When  some  of  those  who  were  present  at 
the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  gift  of 
tongues,  mocked  at  the  disciples,  and  said  that 
they  were  full  of  new  wine,  it  was  Peter  who  in  a  \ 
most  spirited  manner  refuted  the  slander,  and 
spoke  so  powerfully  of  his  Master's  claims,  that 
on  the  same  day  there  were  added  to  the  number  IJ 
of  Christian  believers  about  three  thousand  souls^1 
It  was  Peter  who  healed  the  lame  man  at  the 
Beautiful  Gate  of  the  temple ;  who  addressed  the 
people  on  that  occasion ;  who,  when  arraigned  be- 
fore the  chief  priests,  declared  so  boldly  to  them 
that  salvation  was  alone  by  Jesus  Christ;  and 
who,  when  he  and  his  companion  John  were  com- 
manded not  to  speak  at  all  nor  teach  in  that  name,  : 
returned,  jointly  with  the  beloved  disciple,  that 
heroic  answer,  "  Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight 
of  God  to  hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God, 
judge  ye."     It  was  Peter  who  exposed  the  decep- 


62  SIMON   PETER. 

tion  of  Ananias  and  his  wife  Sapphira,  and  at 
whose  feet  they  both  fell  down  dead.  And  it  was 
Peter,  who,  by  his  shadow  alone,  healed  many 
who  were  laid  in  his  way.* 

After  Samaria  had,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  Philip,  received  the  word  of  God,  Peter  and 
John  were  sent  there  by  the  apostles,  in  order 
that  they  might  lay  their  hands  on  the  converts, 
and  cause  them  to  receive  the  Holy  Spirit.f  And 
then  it  was  that  Peter  so  indignantly  rebuked 
Simon  the  sorcerer,  who  thought  that  the  gift  of 

*  It  is  not  expressly  asserted  in  Acts  v.  15,  that  those  persons 
were  healed  by  Peter's  shadow,  and  therefore  some  commentators 
have  taken  it  for  granted  that  they  were  not,  and  have  even  gone 
so  far  as  to  assert,  that  the  apostle's  neglect  of  them  was  a  pun- 
ishment for  their  superstition.  So  says  Rosenmuller.  But  in  the 
next  verse  we  are  told  that  great  numbers  of  sick  persons  were 
also  brought  to  him  from  the  cities  round  about,  and  "were  healed 
every  one."  Now  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  these 
should  be  healed,  and  those  who  belonged  to  the  city  should  be 
neglected.  Their  being  placed  in  Peter's  way,  so  that  even  his 
shadow  might  pass  over  them,  shows  more  the  affectionate  and 
confident  faith  of  them  and  their  friends  than  it  does  their  super- 
stition. If  Peter  was  empowered  from  on  high  to  heal  diseases, 
he  could  do  so  by  his  shadow,  as  well  as  by  a  touch  or  a  few  words. 
His  will  was  the  agent ;  the  signs  of  its  exertion  were  of  no  im- 
portance in  themselves.  As  we  are  not  informed  that  Peter  re- 
buked those  who  laid  the  sick  under  his  shadow,  the  most  reason- 
able and  compassionate  inference  is,  that  these,  as  well  as  the 
others,  were  healed. 

t  The  fact  that  the  apostles  sent  Peter  on  this  mission  is  proof 
sufficient  that  his  precedence  among  them  was  far  from  being  of 
the  papal  character. 


SIMON   PETER.  63 

God  might  be  purchased  with  money.  "  Thy 
money  perish  with  thee,"  said  he ;  "  thou  hast 
neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter,  for  thy  heart  is 
not  right  in  the  sight  of  God." 

We  now  find  him  very  actively  engaged  in  the 
duties  of  his  apostleship,  "  passing  throughout 
all  quarters,"  performing  miracles,  preaching  the 
word,  and  feeding  the  sheep  of  the  great  Shep- 
herd. At  Lydda  he  healed  a  certain  man,  named 
iEneas,  who  had  been  sick  with  the  palsy  eight 
years ;  and  at  the  neighboring  town  of  Joppa  he 
raised  to  life  a  pious  female  disciple  by  the  name 
of  Tabitha,  or  Dorcas.* 

At  Joppa  he  abode  many  days  with  one  Simon, 
a  tanner.  It  was  while  he  was  living  here  that 
he  was  called  to  instruct  and  baptize  Cornelius, 
the  centurion,  who  dwelt  in  Csesarea ;  to  prepare 
him  for  which  duty,  he  was  taught  in  a  remarka- 
ble vision,  not  to  call  any  creature  of  God  com- 
mon or  unclean,  and  that  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons,  but  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  him 
and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with  him. 
With  these  convictions  on  his  mind,  he  obeys  the 
call  of  Cornelius  to  come  to  him,  and,  while  he  is 
addressing  him,  witnesses  the  descent  of  the  Spirit 
on  him  and  his  family,  and  orders  them  to  be 
baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.    Thus  he  fulfilled 

*  Tabitha  being  the  Syriac  name,  and  Dorcas  its  translation 
into  Greek.     The  words  mean  a  doe  or  kid. 


64  SIMON  PETER. 

to  the  utmost  the  prediction  with  which  his  name 
of  Peter  was  conferred  on  him,  and  founded  the 
Christian  Church  in  both  the  Jewish  and  th'e  Gen- 
tile world.  It  was  an  event  of  which  we  at  this 
period  can  hardly  estimate  the  importance.  De- 
void of  Jewish  prejudices  and  antipathies,  we  can 
hardly  conceive  with  what  consternation  the  Jew- 
ish converts,  who,  as  Jews,  had  always  cherished 
the  belief  that  religion  and  truth  and  God's  pecu- 
liar favor  always  had  been,  and  always  were  to  be, 
confined  to  them,  must  have  listened  to  the  intel- 
ligence that  the  chief  of  the  apostles  had  been 
breaking  down  the  wall  and  drawing  up  the  veil 
which  were  interposed  between  the  faithful  people 
and  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  that  henceforth 
there  was  to  be  no  spiritual  distinction  between 
Hebrew  and  Greek,  Jew  and  Gentile.  Some  con- 
ception of  this  indignant  surprise  of  theirs  may 
be  formed  from  the  recorded  circumstance,  that 
when  Peter  had  returned  to  Jerusalem,  "  they 
that  were  of  the  circumcision,"  including  his 
fellow-apostles,  and  indeed  the  whole  Christian 
Church,  "  contended  with  him,  saying,  thou  went- 
est  in  to  men  uncircumcised,  and  didst  eat  with 
them."  It  was  enough  to  provoke  their  amaze- 
ment, that  he  simply  eat  with  them.  But  Peter 
had  the  steadfastness  to  defend  himself,  and  ex- 
pound the  whole  matter  to  them  from  the  begin- 
ning ;  and  so  much  were  they  impressed  by  the 


SIMON  PETER.  65 

force  and  reason  of  his  words,  that  they  acqui- 
esced in  peace,  "  and  glorified  God,  saying,  Then 
hath  God  also  to  the  Gentiles  granted  repentance 
unto  life." 

Not  long  after  this,  Peter  was  put  into  prison 
by  Herod,  but  was  set  free  by  an  angel,  who  came 
to  him  while  he  "  was  sleeping  between  two  sol- 
diers, bound  with  two  chains."  That  he  was  sleep- 
ing in  such  a  situation  is  an  incidental  and  beau- 
tiful  proof  of  his  tranquillity  in  extreme  danger. 
He  then  went  down  from  Judaea  to  Caesarea,  and 
there  abode ;  very  probably  in  the  house  or  un- 
der the  protection  of  Cornelius,  his  distinguished 
convert. 

The  next  time  that  we  hear  of  him  is  at  the 
meeting  of  apostles  and  elders,  which  is  generally 
called  the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  and  which  was 
convened  to  settle  the  long  and  vehemently  agi- 
tated question,  again  brought  up  by  some  of  the 
believing  Pharisees,  whether  it  was  needful  to  cir- 
cumcise all  converts,  and  command  them  to  keep 
the  law  of  Moses.     When  there  had  been  much\ 
disputing,  Peter  rose  up,  and  gave  his  decided  I 
opinion  against  the  necessity  of  circumcising  the    \ 
Gentiles,  or  bringing  them  under  the  ceremonial    j 
law.     And  with  this  opinion  the  Council  at  last  / 
coincided. 

With  the  history  of  this  Council,  the  notices  of 
Peter's  life  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  come  to  an 


66  SIMON   PETER. 

end.  He  is  named  a  few  times  in  the  epistles  of 
Paul,  and  once  with  reprehension.  That  apostle 
tells  us  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  that,  when 
Peter  was  come  to  Antioch,*  he  withstood  him  to 
the  face  because  he  was  to  be  blamed  ;  for  that 
although  he  had  already  eaten  with  Gentiles,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  new  principles  so  openly  pro- 
fessed, yet  when  some  of  the  circumcision  came  to 
Antioch,  he  withdrew  from  the  Gentiles,  from  fear 
of  the  circumcised.  This  was  an  inconsistency, 
certainly,  and  shows  that  some  remains  of  weak- 
ness still  lingered  about  the  character  of  Peter ; 
but  it  is  the  only  inconsistency  which  is  laid  to 
his  charge  from  the  time  of  his  Master's  resurrec- 
tion ;  and  he  can  easily  be  forgiven,  when  we  con- 
sider how  much  he  had  done  and  suffered,  ever 
since  that  event,  in  his  Master's  name  and  for  his 
Master's  cause. 

All  that  remains  to  be  said  of  this  remarkable 
man  is  to  be  gathered,  not  from  the  Scriptures, 
but  from  other  early  accounts,  the  authority  of 

*  Ecclesiastical  historians  say  that  Peter  founded  the  Church  at 
Antioch,  and  some  add,  that  he  was  its  first  bishop.  Chrysostom 
writes:  "This  is  one  prerogative  of  our  city  (Antioch),  that  we 
had  at  the  beginning  the  chief  of  the  apostles  for  our  master.  For 
it  was  fit  that  the  place  which  was  first  honored  with  the  name 
of  Christians  should  have  the  chief  of  the  apostles  for  its  pastor. 
But  though  we  had  him  for  a  master  awhile,  we  did  not  detain 
him,  but  resigned  him  to  the  royal  city,  Kome.  Or,  rather,  we 
have  him  still.  For  though  we  have  not  his  body,  we  have  hip 
faith."  —  Chrysostom,  as  adduced  by  Lardner, 


SIMON   PETER.  67 

which,  though  not  to  be  compared  with  that  of 
the  Scriptures,  should  be  held  in  a  due  degree  of  , 
respect.     We  are  informed  by  Eusebius,  that  Ori-  ^j 
gen  wrote  of  him,  that  "  he  was  supposed  to  have     | 
preached  to  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion  in  Pontus,    /• 
Galatia,  Bithynia,  Cappadocia,  and  Asia.     And  at  \ 
length  coming  to  Rome,  was  crucified  with  his  Jj 
head  downwards."     This  kind  of  death  he  was 
said  to  have  requested,  out  of  a  feeling  of  humble 
respect  to  his  Master.     If  so,  it  is  an  affecting 
conclusion  of  his  eventful  life,  and  another  strik- 
ing exhibition  of  the  ardent  character  which  ad- 
hered to  him  to  the  last.     He  conceived  it  too 
great  an  honor  that  such  an  one  as  he  should  meet 
his  death  erect,  and  looking  upwards,  like  his  be- 
loved and  venerated  Lord  ;  and  so,  with  his  head 
in  the  dust,  he  closed  his  labors,  his  failings,  his 
victories,  his  sufferings,  and  his  life. 

There  are  Roman  Catholic  writers  who  main- 
tain that  Peter  was  bishop  of  Rome  during  a  pe- 
riod of  twenty-five  years  before  his  martyrdom 
there.  But  this  assertion,  though  supported  by 
such  high  authority  as  that  of  Jerome,  has  been 
shown  by  Cave  and  others  to  be  wholly  unfound- 
ed. The  most  authentic  account  is,  that  Peter, 
after  having  been  in  Antioch  for  a  season,  came 
to  Rome  about  the  year  63  or  64,  and  suffered 
martyrdom  in  the  manner  above  stated,  a  year  or 
two  after,  during  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 


68  SIMON  PETER. 

by  the  tyrant  Nero,  and  that  St.  Paul  was  mar 
tyred  there  at  the  same  time.  It  also  seems  prob- 
able that  he  was  crucified  and  buried  on  the 
Vatican  Hill,  whence  his  remains  were  afterwards 
removed  to  the  Catacombs  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  city.  Caias,  a  writer  quoted  by  Eusebius, 
states  that  in  his  time,  about  the  year  200,  the 
tombs  of  Peter  and  Paul  were  to  be  seen  at  Rome, 
which  is  very  likely  to  be  -true.  It  is  the  belief 
of  the  Catholics,  that  the  body  of  Peter  now  re- 
poses under  the  splendid  church  which  is  called 
by  his  name :  — 

"  Christ's  mighty  shrine  above  his  martyr's  tomb !  " 

Cave  inclines  to  the  opinion  that  neither  Peter 
nor  Paul  was,  properly  speaking,  bishop  of  the 
Roman  Church.  He  supposes  that  by  their  united 
exertions  they  planted  it,  and  that  its  first  bishop 
was  Linus,  who  by  the  Catholics  is  placed  next 
to  St.  Peter  in  the  episcopal  see.  Irenaeus,  about 
178,  speaks  of  the  Church  of  Rome  as  "  founded 
and  established  by  the  two  great  apostles,  Peter 
and  Paul."  But  Epiphanius  calls  them  the  first 
apostles  and  bishops  of  Rome ;  after  whom,  he 
says,  were  Linus,  Cletus,  Clement. 

The  following  description  of  the  person  of  St. 
Peter,  by  Nicephorus,  an  ecclesiastical  historian 
of  the  early  part  of  the  fourteenth  century,  is 
entitled  to  very  little  credence.     But  it  may  be 


SIMON   PETER.  69 

regarded  as  a  curiosity,  if  not  a  true  portrait. 
"  His  body  was  somewhat  slender,  of  a  middle 
size,  but  rather  inclining  to  tallness ;  his  complex- 
ion very  pale  and  almost  white ;  the  hair  of  his 
head  and  beard  curled  and  thick,  but  withal 
short ;  though  St.  Jerome  tells  us  that  he  was 
bald,  which  probably  might  be  in  his  declining 
age ;  his  eyes  black,  but  specked  with  red ;  his 
eyebrows  thin,  or  none  at  all ;  his  nose  long,  but 
rather  broad  and  flat  than  sharp." 

It  is  certain  that  he  was  a  married  man,  and 
probable  that  his  wife  accompanied  him  in  his 
journeys.  St.  Paul  is  thought  to  intimate  as 
much,  when  he  says,  in  his  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  (ix.  5.)  :  a  Have  we  not  power  to 
lead  about  a  sister,  a  wife,  as  well  as  other  apos- 
tles, and  as  the  brethren  of  the  Lord,  and  Ce- 
phas?" 

That  he  was  married  when  he  was  called  to  be\ 
an  apostle  is  certain,  as  the  Scriptures  mention  | 
his  "wife's  mother."  But  stanch  Catholics,  with 
Jerome  at  their  head,  will  have  it  that  he  left  his 
wife  when  he  left  all  to  follow  Jesus.  This,  how- 
ever, does  "not  well  agree  with  the  testimony  of 
Paul.  Clemens  Alexandrinus  relates,  that  Peter, 
seeing  his  wife  going  to  be  martyred,  exceedingly 
rejoiced  that  she  was  elected  to  so  great  an  honor, 
and  that  she  was  now  returning  home ;  and,  calling 
her  by  her  name,  encouraged  and  exhorted  her, 


70  SIMON   PETER. 

bidding  her  to  be  mindful  of  our  Lord.  The 
apostle  is  also  said  to  have  had  a  daughter  by 
the  name  of  Petronilla. 

Two  epistles  of  Peter  are  received  into  the 
Canon  of  the  New  Testament.  The  authenticity 
of  the  first  is  well  established  and  generally  al- 
lowed. It  is  addressed  "  to  the  strangers  scat- 
tered throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia, 
Asia,  and  Bithynia."  By  these  "  strangers "  is 
most  probably- meant  the  Jewish  Christians  who 
sojourned  in  those  regions ;  though  some  com- 
mentators would  have  the  term  to  apply  both  to 
Jewish  and  Gentile  converts.  The  epistle  was 
written  from  Rome,  which  is  figuratively  denom- 
inated Babylon,  in  the  concluding  salutation.  Its 
purpose  was  to  strengthen  and  comfort  those  to 
whom  it  was  addressed,  who  were  suffering  under 
the  persecutions  which  had  begun"  to  be  fiercely 
waged  against  them  by  the  heathens.  The  topics 
urged  in  it  are  equal  to  its  design,  and  are 
highly  consolatory  and  animating.  Of  the  whole 
epistle,  Erasmus  says :  "  It  is  worthy  of  the  Prince 
of  the  apostles,  and  full  of  apostolical  dignity 
and  authority.  It  is  sparing  in  worcte,  but  full 
of  sense." 

The  genuineness  of  the  second  epistle  has  been 
called  in  question  from  early  times.  It  never 
was  fully  disproved,  however ;  and  there  was  good 
reason  for  numbering  it  at  last  among  the  sacred 


SIMON  PETER.  71 

books.  The  testimony  of  Eusebius  concerning  it 
is  as  follows :  "  One  epistle  of  Peter,  called  his 
first,  is  acknowledged.  This  the  presbyters  of 
ancient  times  have  quoted  in  their  writings  as 
undoubtedly  genuine.  But  that  called  his  second, 
we  have  been  informed  by  tradition,  has  not  been 
received  as  a  part  of  the  New  Testament.  Never- 
theless, appearing  to  many  to  be  useful,  it  hath 
been  carefully  studied  with  the  other  Scriptures." 
Origen,  who  flourished  in  the  third  century,  says 
of  the  two  epistles :  "  Peter,  on  whom  the  Church 
is  built,  hath  left  an  epistle  universally  acknowl- 
edged. Let  it  be  granted  that  he  has  also  writ- 
ten a  second ;  for  it  is  doubted."  That  it  was 
doubted  is  no  proof  of  anything  more  than  that 
the  evidence  in  its  favor  was  not  so  complete  as 
that  which  could  be  produced  for  other  sacred 
books.  And  it  may  be  said,  both  of  this  epistle 
and  the  few  other  writings  of  the  canon  which 
were  not  fully  received,  that  they  manifest  in 
their  history  how  careful  the  first  Christians 
were  in  examining  the  claims  of  alleged  apostoli- 
cal compositions,  and  adopting  them  as  of  author- 
ity in  the  Church.  The  learned  and  candid  Lard- 
ner  observes,  that  so  well  founded  was  the  judg- 
ment of  those  early  Christians  concerning  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  that  no  writing 
which  was  by  them  pronounced  genuine  has, 
since  their  time,  been  found  spurious ;    neither 


72  SIMON   PETER. 

have  we,  at  this  day,  the  least  reason  to  think 
any  book  genuine  which  they  rejected. 

We  may  be  authorized,  therefore,  in  accepting 
the  second  epistle  of  Peter  as  his  true  work,  not- 
withstanding the  rather  doubtful  character  of  its 
evidence.  If  it  was  written  by  him,  it  was  prob- 
ably written  to  the  same  persons,  and  from  the 
same  place,  with  the  first.  It  was  written,  also, 
not  long  after  the  first,  and  not.  long  before  the 
death  of  the  apostle.  -    - 

The  day  consecrated  to  St.  Peter  as  that  of  his 
martyrdom,  ill- the  Roman  Calendar,  to  which  the 
Calendar  of  the  English  Church  corresponds,  is 
June  29. 


ANDKEW. 

Of  Andrew,  the  brother  of  Simon  Peter,  we 
are  told  but  little  in  the,  sacred  writings  ;  not 
enough,  indeed,  to  enable  us  to  form  any  estimate 
of  his  character.  We  may  be  permitted  to  con- 
jecture, however,  from  the  circumstance  of  his 
having  been  a  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist,  and 
also  from  his  having  gone  voluntarily  to  hear  the 
instructions  of  Jesus,  and  thus  made  himself  his 
first  disciple  among  those  who  were  afterwards 
his  apostles,  —  we  may  conjecture,  I  say,  from 
these  circumstances,  which  have  already  been 
stated  in  the  life  of  Peter,  that  the  temperament"! 
of  Andrew  was  sober  and  religious,  and  that  his 
mind  was  remarkably  open  to  the  reception  of  j 
truth.  So  far  as  we  can  argue  at  all,  we  may 
argue  the  existence  of  everything  that  is  good, 
from  such  commendable  appearances.  We  can 
easily  believe  that  he  was  a  serious,  candid, 
steadfast  man ;  very  probably  without  the  shining 
talents  and  the  burning  zeal  of  his  brother,  and 
quite  as  probably  without  his  brother's  prominent 
faults.     That  not  much  is  recorded  of  him  is  a 

4 


74  ANDREW. 

proof  that  he  was  not  very  forward  or  active 
among  the  twelve ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  a 
proof  that  he  wanted  good  sense,  discretion,  or 
stability. 

We  may  also  confidently  deduce  the  affection- 

/ateness  of  this  apostle's  character  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  his  seeking  his  brother,  first  of  all, 

\  with  that  eager  exclamation,  "  We  have  found  the 
\Messiah  !  "  This  fact  alone  would  be  enough  to 
interest  us  in  him,  did  we  know  nothing  of  him 
beside.  After  spending  part  of  a  day  with  Jesus 
in  his  place  of  abode,  and  being  satisfied  that  he 
was  the  long-looked-for  Redeemer,  he  does  not 
shut  up  this  'knowledge  in  his  own  breast,  and 
feed  upon  the  honor  alone  ;  neither  does  he  go 
and  make  himself  of  consequence  by  blazoning 
the  matter  abroad  ;  but  he  hastens  to  share  the 
pleasure  and  the  confidence  with  his  brother. 
"  Kg  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith 
unto  him,  We  have  found  the  Messiah.  And 
he  brought  him  to  Jesus."  His  joy  was  increased 
by  his  thus  imparting  it ;  and  so  will  our  piety  be 
strengthened  by  communication.  Who,  that  has 
truly  found  Jesus,  will  not  desire,  after  the  exam- 
ple of  Andrew,  to  lead  a  brother  to  his  blessed 
abode  ?  And  who  that  succeeds  in  leading  a 
brother  there  will  not  feel  that  he  crosses  the 
sacred  threshold  with  more  delight  and  confi- 
dence than  before  ? 


ANDREW.  75 

Andrew  is  generally  styled  by  the  ancient  writ- 
ers of  the  Church  Protocletos,  or  the  first  called. 
The  following  encomium  on  him  is  by  Hesychius, 
Presbyter  of  Jerusalem :  "  St  Andrew  was  the 
first-born  of  the  Apostolic  Choir  ;  the  prime  pillar 
of  the  Church  ;  a  rock  before  the  rock  ;  the  foun- 
dation of  that  foundation ;  the  first  fruits  of  the 
beginning  ;  a  caller  of  others  before  he  was  called 
himself.  He  preached  that  Gospel  which  was  not 
yet  believed  or  entertained  ;  revealed  and  made 
known  that  life  to  his  brother  which  he  had  not 
yet  perfectly  learned  himself.  So  great  treasures 
did  that  one  question  bring  him,  '-Master,  where 
dwellest  thou?'  which  he  soon  perceived  by  the 
answer  given  him,  and  which  he  deeply  pondered 
in  his  mind,  '  Come  and  see.' " 

We  find,  further,  concerning  him,  that  he  was 
the  disciple  who,  just  before  the  miracle  of  feed- 
ing the  five  thousand,  informed  Jesus  that  there 
was  a  lad  present  who  had  five  barley  loaves  and 
^two  small  fishes,  and  then  added  the  question, 
"  But  what  are  they  among  so  many  ?  "  This 
question,  on  the  first  view  of  it,  seems  to  denote 
that  Andrew  had  no  idea  that  it  was  practicable 
to  feed  the  multitude,  and  merely  mentioned  the 
small  quantity  of  provisions  in  despair,  and  as  an 
aggravation  of  their  condition  ;  but  it  is  possible, 
too,  that  he  may  have  entertained  a  secret  hope 
that  it  was  in  his  Master's  power  to  relieve  their 


\ 


76  ANDREW. 

wants  even  with  the  five  loaves  and  two  fishes, 
and  that  he  propounded  the  question  in  a  hesitating 
manner,  that  he  might  draw  forth  his  Master's  in- 
tentions. If  this  last  is  the  fact,  it  shows  that  he 
possessed  more  faith  than  was  often  manifested  by 
the  other  disciples,  though  not  such  an  enthusias- 
tic faith  as  was  sometimes  displayed  by  his  more 
ardent  brother. 

We  read  also  of  Andrew,  that  when  certain 
Greeks,  who  had  come  up  to  Jerusalem  to  wor- 
ship at  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  expressed  to 
r Philip  their  desire  to  see  Jesus,  Philip  mentioned 
the  request  to  Andrew,  and  then  they  went  both 
together  to  impart  it  to  Jesus.  These  Greeks 
were  no  doubt  what  were  called  Proselytes  of  the 
Gate,  or  Greeks  who  had  been  converted  to  the 
acknowledgment  and  worship  of  the  true  God ; 
but  who,  on  account  of  their  Gentile  extraction, 
were  not  entitled  to  all  the  religious  privileges 
and  distinctions  of  native  Jews.  They  had  heard 
of  the  fame  of  Jesus,  and  desired  to  be  introduced 
to  his  presence,  not  only  to  gratify  their  curiosity, 
but,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  succeeding  dis- 
course of  our  Saviour,  to  inquire  concerning  his  ■ 
kingdom.  The  precaution  which  was  used  by 
Philip  in  preferring  their  request  is  a  sign,  in 
the  first  place,  that  he  was  doubtful  whether  a 
Gentile  ought  to  be  brought  into  the  company  of 
the  Messiah ;  and,  secondly,  that  Andrew  was,  in 


ANDREW.  77 

his  opinion,  a  person  with  whom  he  might  profit- 
ably consult,  in  an  affair  which  appeared  to  him 
to  be  of  some  moment  and  delicacy. 

It  was  a  few  days  after  this  that  Andrew,  to- 
gether with  Peter,  James,  and  John,  asked  Jesus, 
privately,  what  the  sign  should  be,  when  all  the 
things  which  he  had  just  been  telling  them  re- 
specting the  destruction  of  the  temple  should  be 
fulfilled.  This  is  all  which  is  related  of  this 
apostle  in  the  Gospels.  In  no  other  part  of  the 
writings  of  the  New  Testament  is  he  ever  men- 
tioned, excepting  as  he  is  included  in  the  mention 
of  the  apostles  as  a  body. 

Other  ancient  accounts  inform  us  that  he 
preached  the  Gospel  in  Scythia,  Byzantium  or 
Constantinople,  various  provinces  of  Greece,  and 
other  countries  and  cities.  At  Sinope,  on  the 
Euxine  Sea,  he  is  said  to  have  met  with  his 
brother  Peter.  At  last,  coming  to  Patrse  in 
Achaia,  now  Patras,  an  archiepiscopal  see,  he 
was  crucified  there,  by  order  of  Agaeus,  procon- 
sul of  that  province.  On  approaching  the  cross 
to  which  he  was  condemned  to  be  bound  with 
cords,  that  his  death  might  be  more  lingering,  he 
is  said,  by  one  of  the  ancients,  to  have  apos- 
trophized it  in  the  following  ardent  manner  : 
"  Hail,  precious  cross,  which  has  been  conse- 
crated by  the  body  of  my  Lord !  how  ardently 
have  I  loved  thee !   how  long  have  I  sought  thee ! 


78  ANDREW. 

at  length  I  have  found  thee,  now  waiting  to  re- 
ceive my  longing  soul.  Take  and  snatch  me  from 
among  mortals,  and  present  me  to  my  Master,  that 
he  who  redeemed  me  on  thee  may  receive  me  at 
thy  hands." 

The  instrument  of  his  martyrdom  is  commonly 
affirmed  to  have  been  what  is  called  a  cross  decus- 
sate, made  by  two  pieces  of  timber  crossing  each 
other  in  the  middle,  in  the  form  of  the  letter  X, 
and  hence  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Andrew's 
Cross. 

His  body  was  afterwards  removed  to  Constanti- 
nople, and  he  is  considered  by  the  modern  Greeks 
'  as  founder  of  the  Byzantine  or  Constantinopolitan 
Church. 

Andrew  is  also  the  patron  saint  of  Scotland ; 
and  the  Scotch  had  a  tradition  that  his  remains 
were  brought  to  their  country,  and  entombed  at 
St.  Andrew's,  in  the  fourth  century.  The  day  re- 
served to  him  in  the  Calendar  is  November  30. 
This  day  leads  the  season  of  Advent;  and  the 
honor  of  thus  announcing  the  time  of  the  Lord's 
coming  is  said  to  be  assigned  to  him,  on  ac- 
count of  his  having  been  the  first  who  came  to 
Christ. 


* 


JAMES    THE    GEEATEK. 

James,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  and  the  brother  of 
John,  is  the  third  named  on  Matthew's  list  of  the 
apostles.  Of  his  father  we  are  told  nothing ;  but 
his  mother,  as  appears  by  a  comparison  of  parallel 
passages,  was  Salome,  who  emulated  her  children 
in  attachment  to  the  Saviour,  and  is  spoken  of  as 
one  of  those  women  who  followed  and  occasionally 
served  him,  who  accompanied  him  to  the  cross, 
and  were  the  first  who  were  permitted  to  see  him 
after  his  resurrection.  This  James  has  received 
the  surname  of  the  Greater,  or  Elder,  to  distin- 
guish him  from  the  other  apostle,  James  the  Less, 
of  whom  I  shall  speak  hereafter. 

He,  with  his  brother  John,  pursued  the  same 
occupation  with  their  townsmen  Peter '  and  An- 
drew, and  were  partners  with  them.  They  were 
also  washing  their  nets  on  the  shore,  when  Jesus 
entered  the  vessel  of  their  partners.  They  beheld 
the  miraculous  draught  of  fishes  ;  they  assisted  to 
secure  it;  they  were  astonished  at  it,  and  when 
Jesus,  after  calling  Peter  and  Andrew,  called 
them  also,  "  they  immediately  left  the  ship  and 
their  father,  and  followed  him." 


80  JAMES   THE   GREATER. 

Here  I  cannot  help  requesting  my  readers  to 
pause  a  moment,  and  consider  the  fortunes,  the 
singular,  and,  if  the  word  were  holy  enough,  I 
would  say  romantic,  fortunes  of  these  four  men. 
Simon  and  Andrew,  James  and  John,  brethren  of 
two  different  families,  dwell  together  with  their 
parents  in  a  village  at  the  northern  extremity  of 
a  lake  or  small  sea,  in  the  district  of  Galilee,  and 
on  the  confines  of  the  land  of  Judaea.  The  sea 
is  a  large  sea  to  them,  and  to  them  the  towns 
which  here  and  there  dot  its  coast,  and  the  light 
barks  which,  for  the  purposes  of  amusement,  or 
traffic,  or  their  own  calling,  skim  along  its  pleas- 
ant waters,  are  the  world.  They  are  fishermen. 
Day  by  day  do  they  rise  up  to  the  contented  exer- 
cise of  their  toil,  to  throw  their  nets,  to  spread 
their  sails,  to  ply  their  oars,  and,  when  successful 
in  pursuit,  to  dispose  of  their  freight  in  their 
native  village  or  the  neighboring  towns,  for  the 
support  of  themselves  and  their  families.  They 
are  friends,  partners;  they  have  joined  themselves 
to  each  other  in  their  humble  profession,  and 
agreed  to  share  profit  and  loss,  storm  and  calm, 
together.  Their  low-roofed  dwellings  look  out  on 
each  other  and  on  their  native  lake,  and  within 
these  dwellings  are  bosoms  which  throb  anxiously 
at  their  protracted  absence,  and  beat  gladly  at 
their  return.  Their  boats  contain  all  their  wealth, 
and  their  cottages  all  that  they  love.     Their  fa- 


JAMES  THE   GREATER.  81 

thers,  perhaps  their  ancestors,  were  fishers  before 
them.  They  themselves  have  no  idea  of  a  differ- 
ent lot.  The  only  changes  on  which  they  calcu- 
late are  the  changes  of  the  weather  and  the  vicis- 
situdes of  their  calling ;  and  the  only  great  inter- 
ruptions of  the  even  courses  of  their  lives,  to 
which  they  look  forward,  are  the  annual  journeys 
which  they  take,  at  the  periods  of  solemn  festival, 
to  the  great  city  of  Jerusalem.  Thus  they  live, 
and  thus  they  expect  to  live,  till  they  lie  down  to 
sleep  with  their  fathers,  as  calmly,  as  unknowing, 
and  as  unknown  as  they. 

Look  at  them,  on  the  shore  of  their  lake. 
Think  not  of  them  as  apostles,  as  holy  men  ;  but 
look  at  them  as  they  actually  were  on  the  morn- 
ing when  you  first  hear  of  them  from  the  histo- 
rian. They  have  been  toiling  through  a  weary 
night,  and  have  caught  nothing ;  and  now,  some- 
what disheartened  at  their  ill  success,  they  are 
engaged  in  spreading  their  nets,  washing  them, 
and  preparing  them,  as  they  hope,  for  a  more  for- 
tunate expedition.  Presently  surrounded  by  an 
eager  crowd,  that  teacher  approaches  whom  they 
have  before  seen,  and  whose  instructions  some  of 
them  have  already  listened  to.  With  his  demean- 
or of  quiet  but  irresistible  dignity,  he  draws  to- 
ward the  spot  where  they  are  employed  ;  he  enters 
Simon's  vessel,  and  prays  him  to  thrust  out  a  lit- 
tle distance  from  the  land ;  then  he  speaks  to  that 


82  JAMES   THE   GREATER. 

assembled  multitude  as  never  man  spake ;  then 
he  bids  Simon  launch  out  farther,  and  cast  his 
net  in  the  deep ;  then  follows  the  overwhelming 
draught  of  fishes ;  and  then  those  four  partners, 
filled  with  wonder  and  awe,  are  called  to  quit 
their  boats,  and  throw  by  their  nets,  and  become 
fishers  of  men. 

And  now  what  a  change,  like  the  change  of  a 
dream  or  of  enchantment,  has  passed  over  their 
lives,  dividing  what  was  from  what  was  to  be ! 
It  was  long  before  they  themselves  were  aware 
how  entire  and  how  stupendous  it  was.  In  a 
few  years  they  are  to  be  the  principal  actors  in 
the  most  extraordinary  events  of  recorded  time. 
Home,  kindred,  country,  are  to  be  forsaken  for- 
ever. Their  nets  may  hang  and  bleach  in  the 
sun  ;  their  boats  may  rot  piecemeal  on  the  shore ; 
for  the  owners  of  them  are  far  away,  sailing  over 
seas  to  which  that  of  Genesareth  is  a  pond  ; 
exciting  whole  cities  and  countries  to  wonder 
and  tumult ;  answering  before  kings  ;  imprisoned, 
persecuted,  tortured ;  their  whole  existence  a 
storm,  and  a  greater  one  than  ever  swept  over 
their  lake.  On  the  peaceful  shore  of  that  lake 
even  their  bones  may  not  rest.  Their  ashes  are 
to  be  separated  from  the  ashes  of  their  kindred. 
Their  blood  is  to  be  sprinkled  on  foreign  soils ; 
the  headsman  and  executioner  are  to  preside 
over   their    untimely    obsequies.      A    few   years 


JAMES  THE   GREATER.  83 

more,  and  the  fame  and  the  doctrine  of  these 
fishermen  have  gone  out  into  all  lands.  Magnifi- 
cent churches  are  called  by  their  names.  King- 
doms adopt  them  for  their  tutelar  saints  ;  and  the 
men  who  claim  to  succeed  to  the  office  of  one  of 
them  rule  for  centuries  over  all  civilized  king- 
doms with  a  despotic  and  overshadowing  sway, 
and  by  virtue  of  that  claim  give  away  a  conti- 
nent, a  world,  which,  when  their  predecessor 
lived,  was  entirely  unknown.  History  tells  us  of 
a  fisherman  of  Sicily  who  was  raised  to  that 
island's  throne ;  but  who  will  compare  that  or 
any  earthly  throne  to  the  twelve  thrones  which 
were  set  up  over  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel? 
What  is  a  king  of  Sicily  to  an  apostle  of  Christ? 
A  wonderful  man  has  risen  up  in  our  own,  as  we 
call  it,  wonderful  time,  —  risen  up  from  a  moder- 
ate station  to  the  empire  of  Europe ;  and  yet 
the  eight  volumes  which  another  wonderful  man 
has  written  of  that  emperor's  deeds  and  fortunes 
have  not  preserved,  and  cannot  preserve,  such  a 
name  for  his  hero  as  is  secured  by  hardly  more 
than  eight  lines,  which  tell  us  of  those  men 
who  first  fished  for  their  living  on  the  sea  of 
Galilee,  and  then  were  called  to  be  apostles  of 
Christ. 

My  digression  has  led  me  far  away,  over  dis- 
tant countries  and  through  many  years.  Let  us 
return  to  the  land  of  Judaea,  and  the  history  of 


84  JAMES   THE   GREATER. 

James.  We  ascertain  that,  among  the  twelve, 
he  was  one  of  those  who  were  the  most  honored 
by  the  confidence  of  Jesus.  With  his  former 
partner  Simon,  and  his  brother  John,  he  was  se- 
lected, as  we  have  already  seen,  to  accompany 
his  Lord  on  several  very  important  occasions ; 
such  as  that  of  the  resurrection  of  Jairus's  daugh- 
ter, the  transfiguration,  and  the  agony  in  the 
garden.  It  was  perhaps  on  the  strength  of  this 
manifest  confidence,  and  of  her  own  services, 
that  Salome,  the  mother  of  James  and  John, 
made  that  ambitious  and  truly  maternal  request 
to  Jesus,  that  her  sons  might  sit  on  his  right 
and  left  hand  in  his  kingdom  ;  that  is,  enjoy  the 
two  highest  dignities  next  to  his  own,  when  he,  as 
the  Messiah,  should  mount  the  throne  of  Israel. 

This  is  another  instance  of  the  universal  mis- 
apprehension which  then  prevailed,  and  from 
which  the  disciples  of  Jesus  were  not  free,  con- 
cerning the  office  of  the  expected  Messiah.  It 
was  with  a  complete  understanding  of  this  mis- 
apprehension, that  Jesus  now  answered  the  de- 
ceived and  partial  mother:  "  Ye  know  not  what 
ye  ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  I 
shall  drink  of,  and  to  be  baptized  with  the  bap- 
tism that  I  am  baptized  with  ?  Will  you  partake 
wholly  of  my  lot  ?  will  you  be  able  to  adhere  to 
me  through  every  adversity,  and  share  all  my 
toils   and   dangers   with   me?"      The    brothers, 


JAMES  THE   GREATER.  85 

whom  in  reality  Jesus  addressed,  and  through 
whose  instigation  it  was  that  their  mother  had 
spoken  to  him,  now  answered  him,  under  the 
persuasion  that  they  could  readily  undergo  a  few 
trials  in  his  service,  in  order  to  be  at  length 
advanced  to  great  dignity  under  him,  "  We  are 
able."  How  full  of  melancholy  meaning  is  the 
reply  of  our  Saviour !  "  Ye  shall  drink  indeed 
of  my  cup,  ye  shall  drain  its  full  measure  of 
sufferings  to  the  dregs ;  and  be  baptized  with  the 
baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with,  even  the  waters 
of  violent  death  ;  but  to  sit  on  my  right  hand 
and  on  my  left,  to  prescribe  your  rank  and  de- 
gree in  this  world  or  the  next,  is  not  mine  to 
give ;  it  shall  be  given  to  those  for  whom  it  is 
prepared  of  my  Father."  As  soon  as  the  other 
disciples  heard  of  the  ambitious  application  of  the 
sons  of  Zebedee,  they  were  moved  with  indig- 
nation against  them ;  but  their  Master,  to  quell 
their  rising  jealousy  and  ill-will,  told  them  that 
the  princes  of  the  Gentiles,  merely  temporal  gov- 
ernors, did  indeed  exercise  that  authority  which 
they  were  so  anxious  to  possess ;  but  that  it 
should  not  be  so  among  them,  but  that  they  who 
would  be  great,  truly  great,  among  them,  should 
minister  the  most  kindly  to  each  other's  wishes 
and  necessities ;  for  in  his  kingdom  that  man 
would  be  chief  in  estimation  and  place,  who  was 
chief  in  benevolence,  usefulness,  and  virtue. 


86  JAMES   THE   GREATER. 

The  brothers  are  again  exhibited  to  us  in  no 
very  amiable  light.  We  read  in  the  ninth  chap- 
ter of  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  that,  when  the  time 
approached  in  which  Jesus  was  to  finish  his  mis- 
sion on  earth,  he  set  out  to  go  from  Galilee  to 
Jerusalem ;  and  as  his  way  led  through  Samaria, 
he  sent  messengers  before  him  to  a  Samaritan 
village,  to  prepare  for  his  hospitable  reception. 
The  Samaritans,  knowing  that  he  was  going  up 
to  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  and  piqued  that  he 
should  pass  by  their  own  temple,  which  was  the 
rival  of  that  of  Jerusalem,  would  not  receive  him. 
The  anger  of  James  and  John  was  kindled  by 
tiiis  rudeness,  and  they  said  to  Jesus,  "  Lord,  wilt 
thou  that  we  command  fire  to  come  down  from 
heaven,  and  consume  them,  even  as  Elias  did  ? 
But  he  turned  and  rebuked  them,  and  said,  Ye 
know  not  what  maimer  of  spirit  ye  are  of.  For 
the  Son  of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives, 
but  to  save  them."  The  evangelist  adds,  in  words 
simply  descriptive  of  our  Saviour's  gentleness  and 
forbearance,  "  And  they  went  to  another  village." 

We  may  collect,  from  these  notices,  that  James 
was  disposed  to  be  ambitious  and  passionate ; 
somewhat  resembling  Peter  in  these  respects,  as 
also  in  his  real  attachment  to  his  Master.  W^e 
can  with  difficulty  suppose  that  his  brother  John 
heartily  joined  him  on  the  above-mentioned  occa- 
sions, because  his  character,  as  we  shall  see  here- 


JAMES   THE   GREATER.  87 

after,  was  of  a  very  gentle  order ;  and  therefore 
it  is  probable  that  he  was  prevailed  upon  by  the 
more  vehement  and  energetic  James  to  concur 
in  his  sentiments  and  projects  at  those  times.  It 
can  hardly  be  regretted,  however,  that  these  ex- 
posures of  human  infirmity  took  place,  when  we 
advert  to  the  excellent  precepts  on  the  subjects 
of  ambition  and  revenge  which  they  drew  from 
the  Saviour.  And  it  is  likewise  to  be  observed, 
that,  with  all  his  gentleness,  John  had  a  great 
deal  of  zeal,  and,  before  that  zeal  was  chastened 
by  the  influence  and  example  of  his  Master, 
might  have  often  displayed  it  without  knowledge. 
Beside  which,  we  not  unfrequently  see  that  the 
gentlest  and  most  amiable  have  the  keenest  sense 
of  injustice,  and  that,  when  they  are  roused  to 
indignation,  they  are  greatly  roused.  It  may 
have  been  so  with  John.  At  any  rate,  he  shared 
with  his  brother  in  the  appellation  of  Boanerges, 
or  Sons  of  Thunder,  which  Mark,  in  his  catalogue 
of  the  twelve,  informs  us  was  the  surname  be- 
stowed on  them  by  Jesus,  and  which  seems  to 
have  reference  to  the  heat  of  their  temper; 
though  by  some  interpreters  it  is  supposed  to 
signify  their  powers  of  eloquence. 

In  the  Book  of  Acts  we  hear  of  James  but 
once,  after  his  name  is  given  in  the  enumeration 
of  the  eleven  apostles ;  and  then  it  is  to  hear  of 
his  death.     "  Herod  the  king  stretched  forth  his 


88  JAMES   THE   GREATER. 

hand  to  vex  certain  of  tbe^pliurch  ;  and  he  killed 
""James,  the  brother  of  John,  with  the  sword." 
This  Herod  was  Herod  Agrippa,  the  grandson 
of  Herod  the  Great,  in  whose  reign  Christ  was 
born.  He  was  a  distinguished  favorite  of  the 
Roman  emperors,  Caligula  and  his  successor 
Claudius,  though  a  strict  and  zealous  observer 
of  the  Jewish  law.  On  entering  upon  his  gov- 
ernment, he  was  desirous  of  doing  something  to 
please  the  Jewish  populace,  and  for  that  end 
began  to  persecute  the  infant  Christian  Church, 
selecting  for  a  principal  victim  James,  the  brother 
of  John.  We  are  informed  by  Clemens  Alex- 
andrinus,  that,  as  the  apostle  was  led  forth  to  the 
place  of  execution,  the  person  who  had  accused 
him  was  so  touched  with  the  courage  and  con- 
stancy which  he  displayed,  that  he  repented  of 
what  he  had  done,  came  and  fell  down  at  his 
feet,  and  earnestly  begged  pardon  for  what  he 
had  said  against  him.  St.  James  tenderly  raised 
him  up,  kissed  him,  and  said  to  him,  "  Peace  be 
to  thee,  my  son,  and  the  pardon  of  thy  faults.'' 
At  this,  his  former  accuser  publicly  professed 
himself  a  Christian,  and  so  both  were  beheaded 
at  the  same  time.  Not  long  after  this  martyr- 
dom, Herod  suffered  a  miserable  death,  as  is  re- 
lated in  Acts  xii.  23,  and  more  at  large  by  Jose- 
phus  in  the  nineteenth  book  of  his  Antiquities.* 

*  The  three  Herods  are  connected  in  an  unenviable  manner 


JAMES   THE    GREATER.  89 

/  Though  not  the  first  Christian  martyr,  James 

/  was  the  first  of  the  apostles  who  suffered  martyr- 

y  dom ;  the  first  among  the  twelve,  who,  in  fulfil- 

f  ment   of  that   solemn  prediction,  was   called   to  i 

1  drink  of  the  cup  and  be  baptized  with  the  baptism 

Vof  their  Master;  the  first  who  manifested  to  the 

]  world  that  it  was  beyond  the  power  of  death  itself 

1  to  shake  their  fidelity  to  him.*"    If  he  was  not 

spared  to  labor  much  for   the    Church,  he  was 

soon  permitted  to  edify  it  by  his  sufferings,  and 

was   called   kindly  and   early  to   his   reward  in 

heaven. 

He  is  the  James  who  is  called  by  the  Span- 
iards St.  James  of  Compostella,  and  honored  as 
their  patron  saint.  They  receive  with  general 
faith  a  wild  and  singular  legend,  which  gives 
an  account  of  the  manner  in  which  they  became 
possessed  of  his  remains.  According  to  this  story, 
the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  sent  the  body  in  a  ves- 

with  the  early  history  of  Christianity,  each  as  a  shedder  of  inno- 
cent blood.  The  first,  Herod  the  Great,  murdered  the  Innocents 
of  Bethlehem ;  the  second,  Herod  Antipas,  beheaded  John  the 
Baptist ;  and  the  third  slew  James,  and  intended  to  have  slain 
Peter.  These  circumstances  are  commemorated  in  the  following 
•  Latin  couplet :  — 

"  Herodes  Magnus  pueros,  Antipa  Joannem, 
Teque,  Jacobe,  Agrippa  necat,  Petrum  et  capit  idem." 

*  He  is  therefore  called  the  Apostolic  Protomartyr ;  Stephen 
being  the  Protomartyr,  or  first  martyr,  of  the  whole  Christian 
Church. 


90  JAMES   THE   GREATER. 

sel  with  Ctesiphon,  whom  they  ordained  bishop 
of  Spain.  The  vessel  went  directly  to  a  port  in 
that  kingdom,  without  the  assistance  of  oars  or 
pilot,  guided  only  by  its  holy,  though  lifeless  bur- 
den, which,  on  its  arrival,  was  miraculously 
taken  away  and  buried,  and  after  a  great  many 
wonders,  was  at  last  translated  to  Compostella,* 
where  it  still  abides,  the  object  of  constant  pil- 
grimage, and  the  worker  of  countless  miracles. 
Cave,  after  giving  this  legend  rather  more  at 
length,  observes :  "  This  is  the  sum  of  the  ac- 
count, call  it  romance  or  history,  which  I  do  not 
desire  to  impose  any  further  upon  the  reader's 
faith  than  he  shall  find  himself  disposed  to  believe 
it."  It  is  a  pity  that  such  stories  as  this  should 
be  connected  with  the  names  of  the  holy  apostles. 
It  would  be  more  a  pity,  however,  if  it  were  more 
difficult  to  separate  legends  from  history,  and 
falsehood  from  truth. 

Ferdinand  II.  of  Spain  instituted  a  military 
order  in  honor  of  this  apostle.  .His  festival  is  on 
the  26th  of  July. 

*  It  is  said  by  some,  that  this  place  was  first  called  Ad  Jaco- 
bum  Apostolum ;  then  Giacomo  Postolo ;  then,  by  contraction, 
Compostella. 


JOHN. 

We  now  come  to  John,  the  brother  of  James 
the  elder,  and  the  last  named,  though  certainly 
not  the  last  in  merit,  of  those  four  friends  and 
partners,  the  fishermen  of  Bethsaida.  The  par- 
ticulars of  his  call  to  be  an  apostle  of  Christ 
have  already  been  related,  together  with  some 
other  circumstances  respecting  him,  in  the  lives 
of  Peter  and  James.  We  have  seen  that  he 
ardently  loved  his  Master;  that  he  was  distin- 
guished by  that  Master's  peculiar  regard;  and 
that,  although  he  was  sometimes  betrayed  into 
unworthy  expressions  of  ambition  and  anger,  for 
which  he  was  justly  reprimanded,  his  disposition 
was  remarkably  amiable,  gentle,  and  affection- 
ate. 

There  is  not  much  told  of  him,  individually, 
until  towards  the  closing  scenes  of  our  Saviour's 
ministry  and  life.  At  the  last  supper,  which  he 
and  Peter  had  been  sent  to  prepare,  we  are  told 
that  "  there  was  leaning  on  Jesus'  bosom  one  of 
his  disciples  whom  Jesus  loved."  This  disciple 
was  John  himself;   who  was  so  fond  of  the  dis- 


92  JOHN. 

tinction  which  his  Master's  attachment  conferred 
on  him,  or,  to  speak  more  properly,  was  so  grate- 
fully sensible  of  the  value  of  the  attachment  it- 
self, that  he  continually  speaks  of  himself,  in  his 
history,  as  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  —  a  title 
which  he  surely  would  not  have  assumed  unless 
it  had  been  really  conferred  on  him.  His  place 
at  the  supper  is  an  evidence  that  he  was  high  in 
the  favor  of  Jesus.  He  was  leaning  or  lying  on 
his  bosom ;  that  is,  he  was  the  next  below  him, 
and,  as  it  was  the  custom  of  the  ancients  to  re- 
cline at  their  meals,  his  head  was  brought  in  con- 
tact with  his  Master's  breast,  —  a  situation  which 
used  always  to  be  reserved  by  the  host  at  an  en- 
tertainment for  the  person  whom  he  most  hon- 
ored or  esteemed.  It  was  while  he  was  thus  lean- 
ing, that  Simon  Peter  beckoned  to  him  that  he 
should  ask  of  Jesus  who  it  was  who  should 
betray  him.  John  did  as  he  was  requested,  and 
Jesus  showed  him  who  the  traitor  was  by  giving 
Judas  a  sop.  All  this  seems  to  have  been  done 
in  private,  and  apart  from  the  knowledge  of  the 
other  disciples,  and  proves  the  great  measure 
of  condescension  and  confidence  which  was  ex- 
ercised by  the  Master  toward  this  his  favorite 
follower. 

After  Jesus  was  betrayed  and  seized,  John  is 
supposed  to  have  been  that  other  disciple  who 
went  with  Peter  to  the  palace  of  the  high  priest, 


JOHN.  93 

and  gained  him  admittance  there  by  means  of 
his  acquaintance  with  that  dignitary.*  However 
this  may  be,  he  was  the  only  one  of  the  twelve 
who  had  the  fortitude  to  attend  his  beloved  Mas- 
ter to  the  cross.  How  touchingly  is  it  manifested 
on  this  awful  occasion,  that  the  softest  natures 
are  often  the  noblest  and  most  fearless  too ;  and 
that  those  which  are  apparently  the  most  daring 
and  masculine  may  yet  shrink  away  in  the  time 
of  peril  and  distress !  Who,  in  that  hour  of 
darkness,  —  darkness  in  the  heavens  and  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  —  who,  in  that  hour  of  abandon- 
ment, when  even  the  Son  of  God  cried  out  that 
he  was  forsaken, —  who,  of  all  his  followers,  were 
with  him  then,  to  support  him  by  their  sympathy, 

* "  That  disciple  was  known  unto  the  high  priest."  John 
xviii.  15.  The  early  writers  husy  themselves  to  find  out  in  what 
manner  John  became  acquainted  with  Caiaphas.  Jerome  says, 
that  he  belonged  to  some  order  of  nobility;  which,  however, 
seems  to  be  very  inconsistent  with  the  occupation  of  his  father. 
Nicephorus  relates,  that  he  sold  his  paternal  estate  in  Galilee  to 
the  high  priest,  and  with  the  money  purchased  a  fair  house  in 
Jerusalem,  and  so  became  intimate  with  him.  These  stories 
seem  to  me,  like  many  other  similar  ones,  to  prove  two  things  : 
one,  that  the  eai'ly  Christian  writers  were  exceedingly  anxious  to 
explain  the  slightest  hints  in  the  Gospel  histories ;  the  other,  that 
they  were  much  too  apt  to  write  down  the  first  report  which  came 
to  their  ears,  glad  to  catch  something,  and  not  careful  to  sift  the 
truth,  or,  rather,  too  ready  to  sacrifice  truth  to  the  gratification 
of  a  minute  and  inordinate,  though  not  perhaps  absolutely  idle, 
curiosity.  Hence  the  contradictory  statements  with  which  their 
works  -are  full. 


94  JOHN. 

and  prove  to  him  their  love?  In  the  midst  of 
scoffing  soldiers  and  brutal  executioners,  under 
the  lowering  sky,  and  just  below  the  frightful 
cross,  we  behold  four  weeping  females,*  and  one 
disciple,  the  youngest  and  the  gentlest  of  the 
twelve,  braving  the  horrors  of  this  place  of  blood, 
braving  the  anger  of  those  in  authority  and  the 
insults  of  those  who  do  their  bidding,  determined 
to  be  near  their  friend  and  Master  in  his  agonies, 
and  ready,  on  the  spot  and  at  the  moment,  to 
share  them.  And  what  is  it  that  braces  up  the 
nerves  of  this  feeble  company  to  such  a  singular 
pitch  of  fortitude  and  daring  ?  The  simple  but 
unconquerable  strength  of  affection  ;  the  generous 
omnipotence  of  their  attachment  and  gratitude. 
In  the  might  of  their  love  they  ascend  the  hill  of 
Calvary,  and  take  their  station  beneath  the  cross ; 
hearing  nothing  amidst  all  that  tumult  but  the 
promptings  of  their  devoted  hearts  ;  seeing  noth- 
ing but  their  dying  Lord ;  remembering  nothing 
but  that  he  was  dear  to  them,  and  that  he  was  in 
misery.  0,  how  loftily  does  courage  like  this 
rise  above  that  ruder  and  earthly  courage  which 
rushes  to  the  battle-field,  and  is   crowned  with 

*  They  were  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  Mary  Magdalene,  Mary 
the  mother  of  James  the  Less  and  of  Joses,  and  Salome  the  mother 
of  James  the  Greater  and  of  John.  There  were  other  women  in 
company  with  them,  but  these  four  probably  stood  nearer  the 
cross  than  the  rest. 


JOHN.  95 

the  applauses  of  the  world  !  It  calls  for  none  of 
those  excitements  and  stimulants  from  without 
which  goad  rough  spirits  into  madness,  but  relies 
on  those  resources  that  are  within,  those  precious 
stores  and  holy  powers  which  are  the  strength  of 
a  single  and  faithful  breast.  That  is  the  courage 
of  the  animal,  this  is  of  the  soul.  It  is  pure,  it 
is  divine.  To  say  all  in  one  word,  it  was  such 
as  moved  the  complacent  regard  of  the  Saviour 
himself,  even  in  the  height '  of  his  sufferings. 
Hanging  on  the  cross,  bleeding  and  exhausted, 
yet  when  he  saw  his  mother,  and  the  disciple 
standing  by  whom  he  loved,  he  was  touched  by 
their  constancy ;  his  thoughts  were  recalled  to 
earth ;  the  domestic  affections  rushed  into  his 
bosom ;  and  with  a  tender  care  which  provided  at 
once  a  protection  for  his  parent  and  a  reward  for 
his  friend,  "  he  saith  unto  his  mother,  Woman, 
behold  thy  son !  Then  saith  he  to  the  disciple, 
Behold  thy  mother ! "  Where  was  there  ever  so 
affecting  a  bequest  as  that  which  was  then  made, 
when  love  and  filial  piety  triumphed  over  suffer- 
ing ?  Where  was  there  ever  so  affecting  an 
adoption  as  that  which  then  took  place,  when 
attachment  and  fidelity  triumphed  over  fear  ? 
The  last  earthly  care  of  Jesus  was  accomplished. 
His  mother  was  confided  to  the  disciple  whom 
he  best  loved.  The  favorite  disciple  eagerly  ac- 
cepted the  honorable  and  precious  charge  ;   for, 


yb  JOHN.. 

"  from  that  hour,"  as  we  are  told  by  himself,  he 
"took  her  unto  his  own  home." 

The  whole  scene  is  one  of  unrivalled  pathos. 
Had  it  taken  place  in  a  quiet  chamber,  and  by 
the  side  of  a  peaceful  death-bed,  it  would  have 
moved  us ;  but  how  singularly  and  solemnly  does 
it  come  in,  a  sweet  and  melting  interlude,  in  the 
midst  of  that  wild  and  appalling  conflict,  under 
the  open  and  frowning  heaven!  It  is  like  one 
of  those  hushed  pauses  between  the  fits  of  a 
midnight  storm,  when  the  elements  wait,  and 
pity  seems  pleading  with  wrath,  ere  the  war  and 
the  turmoil  begin  again. 

It  would  appear  that  the  enemies  of  our  Lord 
were  satisfied,  for  that  time,  with  his  destruction  ; 
for  we  do  not  read  that  John,  or  the  females  who 
were  with  him,  suffered  any  harm  on  account  of 
their  fearless  exposure.  It  is  probable  also  that 
the  prodigies  which  succeeded  the  death  of  Jesus 
deterred  his  executioners  from  pursuing  any  fur- 
ther their  work  of  blood. 

On  the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  Mary 
Magdalene  having  gone  to  the  sepulchre  early, 
and  observed  that  the  stone  was  taken  away  from 
its  mouth,  announced  this  fact  to  Simon  Peter 
and  to  John,  who  both  ran  toward  the  spot.  John 
outran  Peter,  and  came  first  to  the  sepulchre, 
and,  stooping  down,  saw  the  linen  clothes  in  which 
his  Master  had  been  buried ;  but  he  went  not  in. 


JOHN.  97 

Then  Peter  came  up,  and  went  in,  and  then 
John  followed  him.  Why  the  latter  did  not  go 
in  immediately  does  not  appear  from  the  history ; 
nor  is  it  easy  to  form  a  conjecture ;  for  he  was 
certainly  equal  to  Peter,  both  in  courage  and 
attachment  to  his  Master.  Perhaps  in  the  mere 
agitation  of  his  feelings  he  delayed  till  Peter 
arrived;  who  no  sooner  came  up,  than,  with  his 
characteristic  promptness,  he  descended  into  the 
sepulchre  where  his  crucified  Lord  had  been 
deposited,  in  order,  it  may  be,  that  he  might  ask 
forgiveness,  even  of  his  remains,  for  having  so 
shamefully  denied  him. 

A  passage  in  John's  own  account  of  this  visit 
to  the  tomb  of  Jesus  renders  it  probable  that  he 
was  the  first  person  who  believed  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  his  Lord.  "  Then  went  in  also  that  other 
disciple,  who  came  first  to  the  sepulchre,  and  he 
saw,  and  believed  "  ;  that  is,  believed  that  Jesus 
had  arisen  from  the  dead.  Nor  is  this  obvious 
interpretation  contradicted  by  the  succeeding 
verse  :  "  For  as  yet  they  knew  not  the  Scripture, 
that  he  must  rise  again  from  the  dead."  By  the 
word  "  they  "  is  not  meant  Peter  and  John  par 
ticularly,  but  all  the  disciples.  The  belief  was 
not  yet  received  among  them,  that  their  Master 
was  to  rise  from  the  dead ;  and  therefore  it  was 
a  remarkable  circumstance,  and  one  worthy  of 
being  recorded,  that  John  was  the  first  who  re- 
5  g 


98  JOHN. 

membered  the  predictions  of  Jesus,  and  acknowl- 
edged their  fulfilment.  So  unprepared  were  the 
disciples  for  his  resurrection,  that  Peter,  who 
first  saw  that  the  tomb  was  empty,  did  not  think 
of  ascribing  the  fact  to  its  true  cause.  It  was 
into  the  mind  of  the  beloved  disciple  that  the 
light  first  broke.  He  first  believed  the  glorious 
truth,  that  death  was  vanquished  by  the  Son  of 
God,  and  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the  Prince 
of  Life. 

When  Jesus  appeared  to  his  disciples  for  the 
third  time  after  his  resurrection,  and  at  the  close 
of  his  solemn  address  to  Peter  intimated  to  him 
that  he  should  die  a  violent  death,  that  disciple, 
seeing  John  just  behind,  desired  to  know  what 
his  lot  was  to  be.  The  answer  of  Jesus  was, 
"  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that 
to  thee  ?  "  This  answer  caused  a  saying  to  go 
abroad  that  John  should  not  die;  but  we  shall 
presently  see  what  was  the  probable  meaning  of 
our  Saviour's  prophetic  words. 

In  the  Book  of  Acts  we  again  meet  with  John 
in  company  with  Peter,  when  the  lame  man  was 
healed  at  the  Beautiful  Gate.  This  act  of  mercy 
and  divine  power  occasioned  their  imprisonment. 
They  were  brought  together  before  the  council 
of  priests  and  scribes ;  they  were  both  charged 
to  teach  no  more  in  the  name  of  Jesus ;  they 
both  nobly  refused  to  obey ;  and  they  were  both 


JOHN.  99 

dismissed  by  the  council,  who  were  afraid  at  that 
time  to  punish  them.  It  is  pleasing  to  see  those 
who  had  formerly  been  partners  in  a  lowly  but 
honest  calling,  thus  continuing  to  toil  hand  in 
hand,  in  their  more  exalted  profession  of  fishers 
of  men.  It  is  an  exhibition  of  Christian  friend- 
ship which  should  not  pass  unnoticed.  On  one 
other  occasion  they  were  united  in  their  holy 
labors,  when  they  were  sent  by  the  apostles  on 
the  mission  to  Samaria ;  after  which  we  hear  no 
more  of  John  in  the  historical  portion  of  the 
Scriptures. 

All  early  testimonies  agree,  however,  that  he 
was  spared  to  a  great  age,  and  outlived  all  the 
apostles ;  earnestly  occupied,  while  his  strength 
remained,  in  the  service  of  his  Master  and  the 
promotion  of  his  religion.  It  is  said  by  some 
writers  that  he  preached  to  the  Parthians ;  and 
it  is  certain  that  he  dwelt  for  some  time  at  Ephe- 
sus,  where  Mary,  his  adopted  mother,  whom  he 
had  constantly  taken  care  of,  according  to  the 
solemn  testament  of  her  own  son,  is  supposed  by 
some  to  have  ended  her  days.  It  is  more  proba- 
ble, however,  as  expressly  stated  by  Eusebius, 
that  she  died  before  John  left  Judaea,  about  fifteen 
years  after  the  Ascension  of  Jesus. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  70,  and  when  John 
was  about  seventy  years  of  age,  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  by  Titus,  took  place.     It  is  under- 


100  JOHN. 

stood  by  commentators  generally,  that  it  was  this 
event  to  which  Jesus  referred,  when  he  intimated 
that  John  should  tarry  till  his  coming.  If  so, 
the  prediction  was  remarkably  fulfilled ;  for  this 
disciple  was  the  only  one  of  the  twelve  who  lived 
to  see  that  once  proud  city  utterly  overthrown, 
her  glorious  temple  destroyed,  and  the  very 
ground  on  which  it  stood  ploughed  up  by  the 
hands  of  heathen. 

Between  the  years   90   and   100,  and   in   the 
*eign  of  the  Emperor  Domitian,  he  was  banished 
to  the  Isle  of  Patmos,  in  the  JEgean  Sea.     Here 
he  wrote  the  Book  of  the  Revelation ;  and  here 
he  remained  till  the  death  of  Domitian,  whose 
successor,  Nerva,  recalled  those  who   had   been 
banished  for  their  faith  in  the  preceding  reign. 
,/"He  then  returned  to  Ephesus,  where  he  is  said 
.      to  have  written  his  Gospel,  and  where  he  died  a 
natural  and  peaceful  death,  at  the  extreme  old 
\\age  of  one  hundred  years.      According  to  Epi- 
phanius,  he  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-four,  in  the 
one  hundredth  year  of  the  Christian  era ;  a  cal- 
culation which  makes  him  six  years  younger  than 
our  Lord.     But  others  say  that  he  lived  to  the 
age  which  was  first  mentioned  ;  and  others  again 
assert  that  his  life  was  protracted  beyond   that 
term.     All   agree,   however,   that  he   was    more 
than  ninety  at  his  death.     He  was  spared  to  bear 
the  longest,  as  his  brother  James  was  called   to 


JOHN.  101 

bear  the  earliest  witness,  of  all  the  apostles,  to 
the  truth  of  Christ.* 

He  left  several  writings  behind  him,  which 
have  been  preserved  in  the  Church  from  age  to 
age,  and  which  of  themselves  bear  witness  to 
the  affectionate  mildness  of  his  character.  His 
Gospel  was  written  after  the  three  others ;  which 
accounts  for  its  omitting  many  things  which  they 
relate,  and  relating  many  things  which  they  omit. 
It  is  John  alone  who  tells  us  of  the  resurrection 
of  Lazarus ;  of  Christ's  washing  his  disciples' 
feet;  and  especially  of  those  divine  discourses 
which  he  held  with  them  just  before  he  was  be- 
trayed, and  which  were  treasured  up  in  the  faith- 
ful memory  and  kindred  heart  of  the  beloved 
disciple,  with  a  minuteness  which  proves  how 
deeply  he  had  been  impressed  by  them. 

The  Book  of  the  Revelation,  which  antiquity 
also  ascribes  to  John,  though  not  with  an  entirely 
unanimous  voice,  has  both  exercised  and  baffled 
as  much  critical  ingenuity  and  research  as  ever 
were  bestowed  on  any  writing  in  the  world.  The 
majority  of  its  interpreters  have  regarded  it  as  a 
series   of  particular  prophecies ;  and  these  sup- 

*  So  respectable  a  writer  as  Chrysostom  asserts,  in  one  of  his 
sermons,  that  John  was  an  hundred  years  old  when  he  wrote  his 
Gospel,  and  that  he  lived  twenty  years  afterwards.  But  this  is 
worthy  of  but  little  credit.  Again,  many  of  the  ancients  enter- 
tained the  notion  that  this  apostle  never  died,  but  was  translated, 
like  Enoch  and  Elias. 


102  JOHN. 

posed  prophecies  have  been  applied  to  so  many 
events,  pasfand  to  come,  that  the  reader  is  at 
last  convinced  that  the  truth  does  not  even  lie 
between  the  differing  hypotheses.  It  may  be 
that  its  splendid  visions  are  really  of  a  prophetic 
nature,  and  that  they  are  not  yet  accomplished. 
But  perhaps  the  most  rational  theory  is  that 
which  several  learned  men  have  adopted,  and 
which  supposes  that  the  whole  Book  of  the  Reve- 
lation is  a  general  prediction,  in  the  form  of  a 
religious  drama,  of  the  glorious  success  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  world,  and  its  triumph  over  its 
numerous  foes,  without  any  reference  to  the 
political  condition  of  certain  states  and  empires, 
or  to  the  downfall  of  particular  hierarchies  or 
heresies.  This  opinion  has  been  explained  and 
supported  by  the  German  professor,  Eichorn,  in 
a  commentary  on  the  Revelation ;  and  in  earlier 
times  had  been  maintained  by  able  expositors, 
and  espoused  by  no  less  a  man  than  the  poet 
Milton,  who  thus  speaks  in  his  Reason  of  Church 
Government  urged  against  Prelaty.  "  And  the 
Apocalypse  of  St.  John  is  the  majestic  image 
of  a  high  and  stately  tragedy,  shutting  up  and 
intermingling  her  solemn  scenes  and  acts  with  a 
sevenfold  chorus  of  hallelujahs  and  harping  sym- 
phonies ;  and  this  my  opinion,  the  grave  authority 
of  Pareus,  commenting  that  book,  is  sufficient  to 
confirm."     But  whatever  difference  there  may  be 


JOHN.  103 

concerning  the  intention  of  this  book,  there  can 
be  none  with  regard  to  its  composition.  It  is 
undoubtedly  a  magnificent  specimen  of  holy  poet- 
ry ;  and  reminds  us  more  constantly  and  strongly 
of  the  sublimest  of  the  Jewish  prophecies  than 
any  other  book  in  the  canon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Beside  the  two  works  already  named,  we  have 
three  epistles  appearing  in  the  Christian  Scrip- 
tures as  the  productions  of  the  Apostle  John. 
That  he  wrote  the  one  which  is  called  the  first, 
there  has  never  been  any  dispute ;  it  is  univer- 
sally and  by  the  best  authorities  ascribed  to  him. 
Bat  the  genuineness  of  the  two  others  was  ques- 
tioned at  a  very  early  period ;  though  the  balance 
in  their  favor  appeared  so  great,  that  they  were 
admitted  into  our  present  collection  of  sacred 
books.  The  controversy  need  not  trouble  us, 
however,  as  the  two  latter  epistles,  beside  being 
very  short,  contain  nothing  of  consequence  which 
is  not  likewise  contained  in  substance,  and  almost 
precisely  in  expression,  in  the  first.  This  first 
epistle  exhibits  in  a  more  striking  light  than  do 
the  rest  of  his  writings  his  great  amiableness  of 
disposition.  It  is  throughout  an  exhortation  —  an 
exhortation  from  the  heart  and  soul  and  mind  and 
strength  of  the  writer  —  to  pure,  exalted,  Christian 
benevolence ;  and  its  whole  drift  and  spirit  may 
be  expressed  in  this  single  passage  from  the  fourth 


104  JOHN. 

chapter :  "  God  is  love ;  and  he  that  dwelleth  in 
love  dwelleth  in  God,  and  God  in  him." 

His  merits  as  a  writer  are  sententiously  ex- 
pressed in  a  passage  from  Jerome,  who  says, 
that  "  he  was  at  once  Apostle,  Evangelist,  and 
Prophet;  —  Apostle,  in  that  he  wrote  letters  to 
the  Churches,  as  a  master;  Evangelist,  as  he 
wrote  a  book  of  the  Gospel  which  no  other  of  the 
twelve  apostles  did,  except  St.  Matthew  ;  Prophet, 
as  he  saw  the  revelation  in  the  island  of  Patmos, 
where  he  was  banished  by  Domitian.  His  Gos- 
pel, too,  differs  from  the  rest.  Like  an  eagle  he 
ascends  to  the  very  throne  of  God,  and  says,  In 
the  beginning  was  the  Word." 

To  John,  as  well  as  to  most  of  the  apostles  of 
Christ,  are  attributed  by  antiquity  both  writings 
and  actions  which  are  probably  apocryphal  and 
fabulous.  It  would  be  useless  for  me  even  to 
give  the  titles  of  the  former.  Of  the  traditions 
of  his  actions  and  miracles,  one  of  the  most  gen- 
erally known  and  quoted  is  the  story  that,  during 
the  persecution  under  Domitian,  and  just  before 
the  exile  of  John  to  Patmos,  he  was  brought  to 
Rome,  and  there  thrown  in  a  caldron  of  boiling 
oil,  from  which  he  came  out  altogether  unhurt. 
In  the  pictures  of  him  by  the  old  painters,  he  is 
often  represented  as  holding  a  cup  or  goblet, 
from  which  a  serpent  is  rearing  its  head.  This 
accompaniment  refers  to  another  legend  respect- 


JOHN.  105 

ing  him,  by  one  Prochorus,  who  tells  us  that, 
some  heretics  having  presented  the  apostle  with 
a  cup  of  poisoned  liquor,  he  made  the  sign  of  the 
cross  over  it,  and  all  the  venom  was  immediately 
expelled  from  the  vessel,  embodied  in  the  visible 
form  of  a  serpent.* 

Stories  of  this  kind  would  naturally  be  multi- 
plied in  that,  or  indeed  in  any  age,  concerning 
persons  whose  lives  were  singularly  out  of  the 
common  course,  and  who  were  in  reality  gifted 
with  the  power  of  working  miracles.  The  ancient 
writers  and  fathers  were  too  apt  to  promulgate 
such  legends,  without  distinguishing  them,  as  care- 
fully as  they  ought  to  have  done,  from  accounts 
which  were  worthy  of  credit  ;  and  the  Church, 
finding  how  ready  and  even  eager  the  multitude 
were  to  receive  every  tale  of  wonder,  made  it  a 
part  of  its  policy  to  cherish  their  credulity  and 
strengthen  their  delusion.  But  we,  who  are  of 
a  more  simple  taste,  require  no  such  means  to 
interest  us  in  the  history  of  a  person  in  every 
way  so  interesting  as  the  "  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved." 

One  of  the  best   authenticated   stories   of  his 

*  There  is  also  generally  introduced  in  the  pictures  of  this 
saint  the  figure  of  an  eagle.  This  is  because  he  is  supposed 
to  be  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  the  "Revelation  as  the  last  of 
the  "four  beasts"  near  the  throne,  who  was  "like  a  flying 
eagle."  We  have  seen  above,  also,  that  Jerome  compares  him 
to  an  eagle. 


106  JOHN. 

latter  days,  which  is  further  recommended  by 
its  conformity  with  the  known  gentleness  and 
amiableness  of  his  character,  cannot  but  please 
all  readers,  and  I  will  therefore  insert  it.  It  is 
said  that  when  the  infirmities  of  age  so  grew 
upon  him  at  Ephesus,  that  he  was  no  longer  able 
to  preach  to  his  converts,  he  used,  at  every  public 
meeting,  to  be  led  to  the  church,  and  say  no 
more  to  them  than  these  words,  "  Little  children, 
love  one  another."  And  when  his  auditors, 
wearied  with  the  constant  repetition  of  the  same 
thing,  asked  him  why  he  always  said  this  and 
nothing  more  to  them,  he  answered :  "  Because  it 
was  the  command  of  our  Lord  ;  and  that  if  they 
did  nothing  else,  this  alone  was  enough." 

"  Such,"  says  Dr.  Watts,  in  one  of  his  sermons, — 
"  such  was  John  the  beloved  disciple.  You  may 
read  the  temper  of  his  soul  in  his  epistles.  What 
a  spirit  of  love  breathes  in  every  line !  What 
compassion  and  tenderness  to  the  babes  in  Christ! 
What  condescending  affection  to  the  young  men, 
and  hearty  good-will  to  the  fathers,  who  were  then 
his  equals  in  age  !  With  what  obliging  language 
does  he  treat  the  beloved  Gaius,  in  his  third  let- 
ter ;  and  with  how  much  civility  and  hearty 
kindness  does  he  address  the  elect  lady  and  her 
children,  in  the  second  !  In  his  younger  years, 
indeed,  he  seems  to  have  had  something  more  of 
fire  and  vehemence,  for  which  he  was  surnamed 


JOHN.  '  107 

A  son  of  thunder.  But  our  Lord  saw  so  much 
good  temper  in  him,  mixed  with  that  sprightliness 
and  zeal,  that  he  expressed  much  pleasure  in 
his  company,  and  favored  him  with  peculiar  hon- 
ors and  endearments  above  the  rest.  This  is 
the  disciple  who  was  taken  into  the  holy  mount 
with  James  and  Peter,  and  saw  our  Lord  glorified 
before  the  time.  This  is  the  disciple  who  leaned 
on  his  bosom  at  the  holy  supper,  and  was  in- 
dulged in  the  utmost  freedom  of  conversation 
with  his  Lord.  Tips  is  the  man  who  obtained 
this  glorious  title,  '  The  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved ' ;  that  is,  with  a  distinguishing  and  par- 
ticular love.  As  a  Saviour  he  loved  them  all 
like  saints,  but  as  a  man  he  loved  St.  John  like 
a  friend  ;  and  when  hanging  upon  the  cross,  and 
just  expiring,  he  committed  his  mother  to  his 
care,  —  a  most  precious  and  convincing  pledge  of 
special  friendship. 

"  0  how  happy  are  the  persons  who  most 
nearly  resemble  this  apostle,  who  are  thus  privi- 
leged, thus  divinely  blessed !  How  infinitely  are 
ye  indebted  to  God,  your  benefactor  and  your 
Father,  who  has  endowed  you  with  so  many 
valuable  accomplishments  on  earth,  and  assures 
you  of  the  happiness  of  heaven !  It  is  he  who 
has  made  you  fair  or  wise  ;  it  is  he  who  has 
given  you  ingenuity,  or  riches,  or  perhaps  has 
favored  you  with  all  these  ;   and  yet  has  weaned 


108  JOHN. 

your  hearts  from  the  love  of  this  world,  and  led 
you  to  the  pursuit  of  eternal  life.  It  is  he  that 
has  cast  you  in  so  refined  a  mould,  and  given  you 
so  sweet  a  disposition ;  that  has  inclined  you 
to  sobriety  and  every  virtue,  has  raised  you  to 
honor  and  esteem,  has  made  you  possessor  of  all 
that  is  desirable  in  this  life,  and  appointed  you 
a  nobler  inheritance  in  that  which  is  to  come. 
What  thankfulness  does  every  power  of  your  na- 
tures owe  to  your  God !  that  Heaven  looks  down 
upon  you  and  loves  you,  anci  the  world  around 
you  fix  their  eyes  upon  you  and  love  you ;  that 
God  has  formed  you  in  so  bright  a  resemblance 
of  his  own  Son,  his  first-beloved,  and  has  ordained 
you  joint  heirs  of  heaven  with  him.', 

Besides  the  affectionate  title  which  so  peculiarly 
connects  this  disciple  with  his  Master,  he  is  styled 
by  ancient  writers,  "  John  the  Divine,"  on  ac- 
count of  the  sublimity  and  spirituality  of  his  writ- 
ings. 

His  day  is  December  27  in  the  Roman  Cal- 
endar; but  the  Greeks  keep  it  on  the  26th  of 
September.  And  it  may  here  be  observed,  that 
the  Roman  and  Greek  Calendars  differ  from  each 
other  in  their  dates  throughout  the  ecclesiastical 
year. 


PHILIP. 

The  fifth  named  on  Matthew's  catalogue  of 
the  apostles  is  Philip.  He  was  a  native  of  Beth- 
saida,  and  consequently  a  townsman  of  the  four 
partners  whose  histories  I  have  already  told. 
"  Now  Philip  was  of  Bethsaida,  the  city  of  An- 
drew and  Peter."  We  have  no  certain  intelli- 
gence of  his  parentage  or  condition,  though  ho 
was  probably  in  the  same  rank  of  life  with  Peter 
and  Andrew,  James  and  John,  and  perhaps  of  the 
same  profession. 

The  day  after  Peter  and  Andrew  had  become 
disciples  of  Christ,  we  read  that  "  Jesus  would  go 
forth  into  Galilee,  and  findeth  Philip,  and  saith 
unto  him,  Follow  me."  Though  Peter  and  An- 
drew were  the  first  who  appear  to  have  attended 
on  the  instructions  of  Jesus,  and  to  have  been 
particularly  noticed  by  him,  and  are  therefore 
termed  his  first  disciples,  —  and  though  Andrew 
is  styled  Protocletos,  as  having  been  the  first, 
whose  name  we  know,  who  was  invited  to  visit 
him  and  converse  with  him,  —  it  is  certain  that 
the  distinction  belongs  to  Philip  of  having  been 


110  PHILIP. 

the  first  who  received  that  express  and  authorita- 
tive call  to  the  apostleship,  "  Follow  me."  We 
find  this  account  in  the  latter  portion  of  the  first 
chapter  of  John's  Gospel.  And  we  then  read, 
further,  that  "  Philip  findeth  Nathanael,  and  saith 
unto  him,  We  have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in 
the  law,  and  the  prophets,  did  write,  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, the  son  of  Joseph."  His  conduct  in  this 
instance  is  like  that  of  Andrew,  as  he  manifested 
the  same  readiness  to  acknowledge  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah,  and  the  same  zeal  to  make  known  his 
^discovery  to  others. 

This  faith  and  zeal,  however,  do  not  continue 
to  be,  if  we  may  judge  from  what  little  the  Gos- 
pels relate  of  Philip,  so  firm  and  ardent  afterwards 
as  they  seem  to  have  been  at  first.     When  Jesus, 

fin  order  to  prove  him,  asked  him  where  bread 
enough  could  be  bought  to  feed  the  five  thousand 
who  were  gathered  together  on  the  mountain, 
Philip,  either  not  remembering  the  miraculous 
power  of  his  Master,  or  not  yet  fully  convinced 
of  its  reality,  entered  into  a  calculation,  and  re- 
turned, for  answer,  that  two  hundred  pennyworth 
of  bread  would  not  be  sufficient  to  supply  every 
L^one  with  a  little.  And  at  the  last  supper,  when 
*\j  our  Lord  was  discoursing  so  divinely  to  his  disci- 
ples, and  had*  said  to  them,  that,  if  they  had  known 
him  properly,  they  would  have  known  his  Father, 
whom  very  soon  they  would  both  know  and  see, 


PHILIP.  Ill 

Philip  was  so  entirely  unconscious  of  his  mean- 
ing, and  so  blind,  notwithstanding  his  long  inti- 
macy with  Jesus,  —  so  blind  to  the  presence  and 
agency  of  God  in  this,  his  beloved  Son,  —  as  to  say 
to  his  Master,  "  Lord,  show  us  the  Father,  and 
it  sumceth  us."  Grieved  at  his  dulness  and  in- 
sensibility, Jesus  returns  that  sadly  reproachful 
answer,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  Jima  with  you, 
and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me,  Philip  ?  He 
that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father  ;  and 
how  say  est  thou  then,  Show  us  the  Father  ? 
Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and 
the  Father  in  me  ?  The  words  that  I  speak  unto 
you,  I  speak  not  of  myself;  but  the  Father  that 
dwelleth  in  me,  he  doeth  the  works."  As  if  he 
had  said,  Is  it  not  evident  to  you  that  the  power 
which  you  have  seen  me  exert  is  more  than  hu- 
man power?  that  the  wisdom  which  you  have  so 
long  been  hearing  from  my  lips  is  more  than 
human  wisdom  ?  that  the  Father  must  have  been 
with  me,  and  in  me,  all  this  time,  or  I  could  not 
have  thus  acted  and  spoken  ?  How  can  you  then, 
who  have  been  one  of  my  constant  companions, 
how  can  you  say,  Show  us  the  Father?  As  a 
Jew,  you  certainly  do  not  expect  to  see  God  in 
person ;  and  how  can  you  behold  a  brighter 
manifestation  of  his  image  and  attributes  than 
that  which  you  have  so  long  beheld  in  me  ?  You 
do  not  know  me,  Philip,  neither  me  nor  my 
Father. 


V 


112  PHILIP. 

/This  instance  of  the  apostle's  incredulity  and 
slowness  of  apprehension  does  not  prove  that  he 
was  more  incredulous  and  dull  than  his  brethren ; 
it  only  shows  how  small  the  impression  was  which 
the  extraordinary  instructions  and  actions  of 
Jesus  had  as  yet  produced  on  the  whole  twelve. 
They  entered  into  his  service  with  the  Jewish 
ideas  of  a  Messiah ;  and  now,  when  he  was  just 
about  to  leave  them,  they  were  almost  as  ignorant 
of  the  spirituality  of  his  kingdom  as  when  they 
first  joined  themselves  to  him. 

Nothing  further  is  said  in  the  sacred  histories  to 
assist  us  in  elucidating  Philip's  character.  The 
Book  of  Acts  relates  nothing  concerning  him; 
for  we  must  not  confound  Philip  the  Apostle 
with  Philip  the  Deacon  or  Philip  the  Evangelist, 
both  of  whom  are  there  mentioned.  The  best 
ancient  testimony  specifies  Scythia  as  the  principal 
scene  of  his  apostolical  labors ;  from  which  coun- 
try he  came  at  last  into  Phrygia,  and  dwelt  in 
Hierapolis,  the  chief  city  in  the  western  part  of 
that  province.*  There  he  preached  the  Gospel 
of  his  Master,  and  planted  the  seeds  of  faith  in 
the  midst  of  idolatry  ;  and  it  is  said  by  some,  that 
it  was  by  effecting  the  destruction  of  an  object  of 
superstitious  worship  that  he  incurred  the  hatred 

*  This  city  is  mentioned  by  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Colos- 
sians  iv.  13.  It  was  near  to  Colosse  and  Laodicea,  and  had  prob- 
ably been  visited  by  Paul. 


PHILIP.  113 

and  persecution  of  a  part  of  the  inhabitants, 
who  caused  him  to  be  imprisoned  and  severely 
scourged,  and  then  hung  by  the  neck  to  a  pillar. 
By  others,  however,  he  is  said  to  have  died  a  nat- 
ural death. 

By  a  concurrence  of  authorities,  Philip  is  stated 
to  have  been  a  married  man,  and  to  have  had 
several  daughters. 

The  festival  of  this  apostle,  according  to  the 
Calendar  of  the  Western  Church,  is  on  the  1st  of 
May. 


BARTHOLOMEW. 

The  next  in  order  of  the  twelve  is  Bartholo- 
mew. Respecting  him  there  is  a  still  greater 
dearth  of  information  than  there  is  respecting 
Philip  ;  for  there  is  absolutely  nothing  told  of  him 
in  the  New  Testament,  unless  we  resort  to  the 
supposition,  which  many  scholars  have  adopted, 
that  he  is  the  same  person  with  Nathan  ael.  In 
favor  of  this  supposition  there  are  several  argu- 
ments, which  form  together  a  body  of  strong  pre- 
sumptive evidence. 

It  is  observed,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  Evan- 
\  gelists  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke,  who  all  place 
Bartholomew  on  their  catalogues  of  the  apostles, 
never  mention  Nathanael ;  and  that  John,  who 
gives  the  particulars  of  Nathanael's  conversation 
with  our  Lord,  never  mentions  Bartholomew. 
Secondly,  as  John  acquaints  us  with  the  fact  that 
Philip  led  Nathanael  to  Jesus,  so,  in  the  lists  of 
the  apostles  by  the  other  evangelists,  Philip  and 
Bartholomew  are  constantly  joined  together  as 
companions.  "  As  they  were  jointly  called  to  the 
discipleship,"  says  Cave,  "  so  they  are  jointly  re- 


BARTHOLOMEW.  115 

ferred  to  in  the  Apostolic  Catalogue,  as  afterwards 
we  find  them  joint  companions  in  the  writings  of 
the  Church."  Thirdly,  it  is  remarked  that  Na- 
thanael  is  introduced,  in  the  company  of  several 
apostles,  in  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  John's  Gos- 
pel, in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  us  to  suppose 
that  he  likewise  might  be  one.  The  passage  is 
that  which  relates  to  the  appearance  of  Jesus, 
after  his  resurrection,  at  the  sea  of  Tiberias ;  on 
which  occasion  Peter  swam  to  him  from  the  ves- 
sel in  which  he  and  the  rest  were  fishing.  The 
disciples,  who  were  present,  are  thus  named: 
"  There  were  together  Simon  Peter,  and  Thom- 
as called  Didymus,  and  Nathanael  of  Cana  in 
Galilee,  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  two  other 
of  his  disciples."  Fourthly,  the  difference  in  the 
two  names,  which  may  at  first  appear  to  be  an 
argument  against  this  supposition,  is  rather  in  its 
favor.  Bartholomew  signifies  the  son  of  Tolmai, 
just  as  Bartimeus,  the  blind  man  whom  Jesus  re- 
stored to  sight,  signifies  the  son  of  Timeus ;  bar 
being  the  Hebrew  word  for  son.  Nathanael, 
therefore,  might  have  also  been  called  Bartholo- 
mew, after  his  father,  just  as  Simon  was  called 
Barjonas  after  his   father.      Bartholomew  could 

/'hardly  have  been  the  only  name  of  the  apostle, 
because  it  is  a  patronymic ;  and  when  circum- 
stances agree  so  well,  why  might  not  his  first 

\  name  have  been  Nathanael?     That  John  never 


116  BARTHOLOMEW. 

calls  Nathanael  by  the  other  name  of  Bartholo- 
mew is  no  proof  that  he  had  no  other  name ;  for 
Matthew,  though  his  other  name  was  Levi,  never 
calls  himself  by  that  name,  throughout  the  whole 
of  his  own  Gospel.  And  finally,  we  are  led  natu- 
rally to  the  presumption  that  Nathanael  must  have 
been  an  apostle,  not  only  by  the  circumstance  of 
his  being  named  in  the  midst  of  four  apostles,  but 
by  the  tenor  of  the  conversation  which  Jesus  held 
with  him,  and  the  probability  that  he  was  one  of 
the  very  earliest  disciples. 

If  we  are  convinced  by  these  considerations 
that  Bartholomew  was  the  same  person  with  Na- 
thanael, we  of  course  know  something  of  his 
character  and  history.  We  view  him  as  an  in- 
habitant of  Cana,  in  Galilee,  where  was  per- 
formed the  first  miracle  of  his  Lord,  soon  after 
his  interview  with  him ;  as  probably  called  to  be 
an  apostle  on  the  same  day  with  Philip,  by  whom 
he  was  introduced  to  Jesus ;  and  as  one  who  was 
characterized  by  the  Saviour,  and  therefore  de- 
servedly, as  an  "  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  there 
was  no  guile." 

The  guilelessness,  candor,  and  honesty  of  Na- 
thanael, or  Bartholomew",  were  indeed  strikingly 
exhibited  in  all  the  circumstances  of  that  inter- 
view. Impressed  with  the  idea  of  his  countrymen, 
that  Nazareth  could  not  furnish  any  celebrated 
prophet,  and  surely  not  the  Messiah,  as  soon  as 


BARTHOLOMEW.  117 

*7  Philip  uttered  the  words,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 
/  the  son  of  Joseph,"  he  exclaimed,  "  Can  there 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? "  But 
i  when  Philip,  very  wisely,  instead  of  arguing  the 
\  point,  simply  said,  "  Come  and  see,"  he  went  at 
once,  clearly  perceiving  the  justice  of  the  appeal, 
and  determined  to  put  his  prejudice,  or  his  opin- 
ion, to  the  only  proper  test  of  experiment.  And 
when  he  had  received  a  small,  though  to  his 
mind  sufficient,  proof  of  the  superior  knowledge 
of  Jesus,  he  gave  in  his  adhesion  on  the  spot, 
saying,  "  Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God ;  thou 
art  the  king  of  Israel."  Pleased  with  this  readi- 
ness of  conviction,  the  Saviour  seems  to  have 
taken  him  from  this  moment  into  his  confidence  ; 
for  he  promised  him  that  he  should  "  see  greater 
things  than  these  "  ;  stronger  proofs  than  the  one 
just  given  of  the  divinity  of  his  mission  ;  wonders 
and  testimonies  so  mighty  and  divine,  that  heaven 
would  appear,  as  it  were,  "  open,  and  the  angels 
of  God  ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son 
of  man." 

Let  our  prepossessions  and  prejudices  vanish 
as  did  those  of  Nathan ael,  as  soon  as  they  are 
touched  by  the  beams  of  truth.  Let  us  besin- 
cere,  simple,  open-hearted,  free  from  guile,  as  he 
was  ;  "  without  partiality  and  without  hypocrisy." 
To  such  a  character  belongs  by  inheritance  the 
promise  given  to  Nathanael.     He  who  possesses 


118  BAKTHOLOMEW. 

it  will  see  greater  things  day  by  day ;  he  will  be 
continually  receiving  brighter  manifestations  of 
truth  and  heaven. 

"  The  child  like  faith  that  asks  not  sight, 
Waits  not  for  wonder  or  for  sign, 
Believes,  because  it  loves,  aright, 

Shall  see  things  greater,  things  divine. 

"  Heaven  on  that  gaze  shall  open  wide, 
And  brightest  angels  to  and  fro 
On  messages  of  love  shall  glide 
'Twixt  God  above  and  Christ  below." 

Nothing  is  particularly  related  concerning  this 
apostle,  by  the  sacred  writers,  beside  what  has 
been  already  adduced.  By  early  ecclesiastical 
historians,  he  is  said  to  have  carried  the  Gospel 
as  far  as  India,  by  which  must  be  meant,  as  Cave, 
thinks,  the  hither  India,  which  was  the  country 
bordering  upon  the  Asian  Ethiopia,  or  Chaldea. 
Pantsenus,  a  Christian  philosopher  of  the  latter 
part  of  the  second  century,  and  preceptor  of  Cle- 
mens of  Alexandria,  having  travelled  into  Ethio- 
pia, found  there,  as  Eusebius  relates,  a  copy  of 
Matthew's  Gospel  in  Hebrew,  which  had  been 
left  there  by  Bartholomew.  Phrygia  was  also 
for  a  time  the  field  of  the  apostle's  labors,  where 
he  met  with  his  former  companion,  Philip,  and  at 
the  period  of  his  martyrdom  narrowly  escaped 
crucifixion  himself.  Lastly,  he  came  to  Alba- 
nopolis  in   the   greater   Armenia,  where   he  was 


BARTHOLOMEW.  119 

persecuted,  and  finally  crucified,  on  account  of 
his  efforts  to  overthrow  the  idolatry  of  the  place. 
Some  accounts  speak  of  his  having  been  flayed 
alive,  previous  to  his  crucifixion. 

Legends  and  martyrologies  affirm,  what  we 
need  not  believe,  that  his  body  removed  from 
place  to  place,  till  it  came  at  last  to  Rome,  where 
it  rested,  and  where  it  is  now  deposited,  as  Ro- 
man Catholics  suppose,  in  a  porphyry  monument, 
under  the  Church  of  St.  Bartholomew. 

August  the  24th  is  consecrated  to  him  by  the 
Western  Church. 


THOMAS. 

The  seventh  of  the  twelve  is  Thomas.  In  the 
Gospel  of  John  he  is  styled  "Thomas  called 
Didymus,"  but  everywhere  else  simply  Thomas. 
It  is  probable  that  Didymus  is  merely  an  interpre- 
tation into  Greek  of  the  Hebrew  word  "  Thomas," 
as  they  both  mean  a  twin.  And  it  may  be  that 
he  really  was  what  his  name  designates  him  to 
have  been.*  But  we  have  no  certain  accounts 
whatever  of  his  early  life,  nor  of  the  early  period 
of  his  apostleship. 

The  first  mention  which  is  made  of  him  is  on 
a  most  interesting  occasion,  and  when  he  appears 
in  a  most  interesting  light.     Shortly  after  our 

*  "It  was  customary,"  says  Cave,  "with  the  Jews,  when 
travelling  into  foreign  countries,  or  familiarly  conversing  with 
the  Greeks  and  Romans,  to  assume  to  themselves  a  Greek 
or  a  Latin  name,  of  great  affinity,  and  sometimes  of  the  very 
same  signification,  with  that  of  their  own  country.  Thus  our 
Lord  was  called  Christ,  answering  lo  his  Hebrew  title  Mas- 
hiach,  or  the  Anointed ;  Simon  styled  Peter,  according  to  that  of 
Cephas,  which  our  Lord  put  upon  him  ;  Tahitha  called  Dorcas, 
both  signifying  a  goat.  Thus  our  St.  Thomas,  according  to  tho 
Syriac  importance  of  his  name,  had  the  title  of  Didymus,  which 
signifies  a  twin ;  Thomas,  which  is  called  Didymus." 


THOMAS.  121 

Lord  had  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  Jews, 
who  were  about  to  stone  him,  and  had  gone  away 
beyond  Jordan,  the  sisters  of  Lazarus,  his  friend, 
sent  to  him,  informing  him  that  their  brother  was 
sick.  Jesus  remained  two  days,  after  hearing 
this  intelligence,  in  the  place  where  he  was ;  for 
it  was  his  intention,  not  to  rescue,  but  to  restore 
Lazarus  from  death,  that  God  might  be  the  more 
glorified ;  and  then  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Let 
us  go  into  Judaea  again. "  His  disciples  earnestly 
sought  to  dissuade  him  from  this,  as  they  thought 
it,  rash  determination,  and  said  unto  him,  "  Mas- 
ter, the  Jews  of  late  sought  to  stone  thee;  and 
goest  thou  thither  again?"  In  answer  to  this 
expostulation,  Jesus  tells  them,  in  figurative 
speech,  that  what  he  had  to  do  must  be  done  in 
its  due  season,  and  before  the  appropriate  time 
was  past ;  and  then  he  adds,  "  Our  friend  Laz- 
arus sleepeth ;  but  I  go  that  I  may  awake  him 
out  of  sleep."  The  disciples,  understanding  him 
literally,  answer,  that  if  Lazarus  was  sleeping, 
he  would  recover,  and  therefore  it  was  unneces- 
sary to  incur  danger,  merely  for  the  sake  of  see- 
ing him.  "  Then  said  Jesus  unto  them,  plainly, 
Lazarus  is  dead.  And  I  am  glad  for  your  sakes 
that  I  was  not  there,  to  the  intent  ye  may  be- 
lieve; nevertheless,  let  us  go  unto  him."  It  is 
at  this  crisis,  when  the  apostles  seem  to  be  hes- 
itating between   the   sense   of  imminent   danger 

6 


122  THOMAS. 

and  the  feeling  of  duty  to  their  Master,  the  one 
holding  them  back,  and  the  other  urging  them 
forward,  that  Thomas  advances,  faithful,  bold, 
and  with  a  mind  made  up  to  abide  by  Jesus  at 
all  hazards,  and  says  unto  his  fellow-disciples, 
"Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with  him." 
His  intrepidity  in  this  case  had  its  effect,  no 
doubt,  on  his  brethren  ;  for  they  all  went  to 
Bethany,  the  village  of  Lazarus,  which  was  only 
about  two  miles  from  Jerusalem ;  and  the  result 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  important 
miracles  of  our  Lord ;  which  was  soon  followed 
indeed,  as  the  disciples  had  feared,  and  as  he 
had  foreseen,  by  his  own  violent  death. 

Thomas  is  again  introduced  as  one  of  the  speak- 
ers on  the  night  of  the  last  supper.  As  Jesus 
was  discoursing  to  his  disciples,  endeavoring  to 
prepare  them  for  his  approaching  departure,  and 
to  lead  them  to  the  sublime  and  consoling  truths 
of  immortality,  he  said  to  them,  "  Whither  I  go 
ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know."  Thomas,  who 
no  more  than  the  rest  could  believe  that  the 
Messiah  was  to  die,  and  to  be  taken  from  the 
world,  before  he  had  achieved  his  expected  glo- 
ries and  the  deliverance  of  Israel,  said  to  him, 
"  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  thou  goest ;  and 
how  can  we  know  the  way  ?  "  His  thoughts  had 
not  accompanied  his  Master's  thoughts;  they 
were  yet  on  the  earth,  groping  about  there  after 


THOMAS.  123 

a  destination  and  a  path,  though  Jesus  was  point- 
ing so  plainly  to  the  mansions  of  another  world, 
and  the  true  and  spiritual  way  which  led  to  them. 
And  it  was  immediately  afterwards  that  Philip, 
too,  uttered  those  words  of  ignorance  which  we 
have  just  now  considered,  and  which  show  how 
much  that  light  was  needed  which  was  soon  to 
break  in  upon  them  all. 

Once  more  we  hear  of  Thomas,  in  a  manner 
which  marks  his  character  with  some  strong  lines, 
and  particularly  distinguishes  his  life.  On  the 
evening  of  the  resurrection,  our  Saviour  came 
and  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  disciples,  and  showed 
them  the  wounds  in  his  hands  and  side,  and  satis- 
fied them  that  he  was  indeed  risen  from  the  dead. 
But  Thomas  was  not  then  with  them,  and  when 
they  told  him  that  they  had  seen  the  Lord,  he 
replied,  that  unless  he  not  only  should  see  those 
wounds,  but  be  allowed  also  to  touch  them  and 
put  his  hand  in  them,  he  would  not  believe. 
r  There  is  a  boldness  and  even  obstinacy  in  this 
/  resolution,  which  at  first  is  apt  to  offend  us  ;  but 
/  on  reflection  we  may  find  that  it  was  neither 
harsh  nor  unreasonable.  He  could  not  have 
refused  his  belief  as  he  did,  through  a  want  of 
respect  or  affection  for  his  Master ;  because  he 
\  had  but  a  short  time  before  expressed  his  readi- 
ness to  die  with  him.  Neither  did  he  hold  in  too 
slight  regard  the  testimony  of  his  brethren,  con- 


124  THOMAS. 

sidering  the  circumstances ;  for  it  was  no  com- 
mon matter  to  which  they  testified ;  in  almost 
any  other  case  he  would  have  believed  their  re- 
port, or  the  report  of  a  single  one  of  their  num- 
ber, but  now  the  event  which  they  related  was 
too  marvellous  in  itself,  one  too  momentous  in 
its  consequences,  to  be  received  on  the  witness 
of  men  who  might  not  wish  to  deceive,  but  who 
nevertheless  might  themselves  be  deceived  or 
mistaken ;  and  he  would  trust  to  nothing  but  his 
own  senses  to  bring  him  decisive  evidence  of  an 
occurrence  on  which  the  direction  of  his  whole 
future  life  depended. 

He  thought  too,  no  doubt,  that  he  ought  to  be 
satisfied  of  this  wonderful  fact  as  well  as  the  rest 
of  the  disciples,  and  in  the  same  way;  and  he 
was  unquestionably  right  in  so  thinking.  If  he 
was  hereafter  to  journey  through  the  world, 
teaching  and  asserting,  with  all  his  powers,  and 
in  the  face  of  every  peril,  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  the  Christ,  it  was  needful  that  he  should 
possess  a  deep  conviction  of  the  reality  of  that 
event,  —  such  a  conviction  as,  in  the  capacity  of  a 
companion,  friend,  pupil,  and  apostle  of  Jesus, 
he  ought  to  have,  and  such  a  conviction  as  the 
world  would  surely  require  of  him.  The  miracle 
had  just  occurred,  as  his  brethren  told  him  ;  if 
so,  why  should  not  he,  standing  in  the  same 
situation  as  they  did,  and  to  whom  its  truth  was 


THOMAS.  125 

as  important  as  to  them,  —  why  should  not  he  have 
the  same  evidence  as  they  did ;  nay,  why  should 
he  not  have  more  ?  Why  should  he  not,  not 
only  on  his  own  account,  but  as  their  represent- 
ative, demand  the  opportunity  of  clearing  away 
every  shadow  of  doubt  which  might  rest  on  so 
splendid  a  truth,  both  by  seeing  his  risen  Lord 
as  they  had,  and  touching  him  with  his  hands  as 
they  had  not  ? 

If  we  regard  the  incredulity  of  Thomas  in  this 
light,  we  shall  see  nothing  improper  in  it,  and 
shall  be  disposed  to  grant  that  it  was  no  greater 
than,  in  his  situation,  was  natural  and  justifiable. 
In  this  conclusion  we  are  countenanced  by  the 
conduct  of  our  Saviour  himself,  who  neither  re- 
fuses to  show  himself  to  his  doubting  disciple, 
nor  manifests  any  displeasure  at  his  freedom  or 
his  unbelief;  for  the  narration  of  the  occurrence 
is  thus  continued  by  St.  John  :  "  And  after  eight 
days,  again  his  disciples  were  within,  and  Thomas 
with  them.  Then  came  Jesus,  the  doors  being 
shut,  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be 
unto  you.  Then  saith  he  to  Thomas,  Reach 
hither  thy  finger,  and  behold  my  hands ;  and 
reach  hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  my  side  ; 
and  be  not  faithless  but  believing."  Startled, 
doubtless,  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  his  Mas- 
ter, and  affected  too  by  the  kind  and  assuring 
manner  in  which  he  is  bid  to  satisfy  his  doubts 


126  THOMAS. 

completely,  Thomas  broke  out  into  the  exclama- 
tion of  wonder  and  acknowledgment,  "  My  Lord 
and  my  Goj} !  "  His  doubts  were  entirely  over- 
come,  his  faith  was  now  as  ardent  and  lively 
as  before  his  distrust  had  been  cold ;  and  his 
testimony  to  the  reality  of  the  resurrection  is 
perhaps  more  valuable  than  any  other  single  tes- 
timony, because  it  was  rendered  under  such  pe- 
culiar circumstances,  and  by  one  so  honest  and  so 
sturdy  in  avowing  his  scruples,  and  so  candid 
in  resigning  them.  "  By  touching,  in  Christ," 
says  one  of  the  Fathers,  "  the  wounds  of  the 
flesh,  he  has  healed,  in  us,  the  wounds  of  unbe- 
lief." 

The  exclamation  of  Thomas,  quoted  above,  has 
held  so  conspicuous  a  place,  and  been  so  often 
brought  forward  in  theological  controversy,  that 
I  must  necessarily  dwell  for  a  moment  on  the 
consideration  of  its  import.  By  many,  though 
by  no  means  by  all  of  those  who  hold  the  doc- 
trine of  the  perfect  equality  of  the  Son  with  the 
Father,  it  has  been  adduced  as  a  Scripture  proof 
of  -that  equality ;  as  an  acknowledgment  by  the 
apostle  of  the  Godhead  and  supreme  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ.  To  this  interpretation  of  the  pas- 
sage, there  seem  to  me  to  be  insurmountable  ob- 
jections. In  the  first  place,  the  question  of  the 
Deity  of  Christ  has  no  concern  with  the  event.  It 
was  not  to  be  satisfied  of  the  Deity,  but  of  the 


THOMAS.  127 

resurrection  of  his  Master,  that  Thomas  required 
his  appearance  ;  and  it  was  to  convince  him  of 
that  resurrection  that  his  Master  condescended 
to  appear  to  him.  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  his 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger 
into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand 
into  his  side,  I  will  not  believe."  Believe  what? 
What  the  disciples  had  just  told  him,  certainly, 
that  they  had  seen  the  Lord,  that  he  was  truly 
alive,  not  that  he  was  truly  God.  Secondly,  it  is  JL^ 
difficult  to  conceive  how  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
in  a  human  form,  just  as  he  had  always  appeared 
before,  and  with  bodily  wounds,  just  as  he  had 
been  taken  from  the  cross,  that  is,  as  a  man  in  all 
respects,  could  have  convinced  his  disciple,  and 
that  disciple  a  Jew,  that  he  was  the  eternal  God. 
The  miracle  of  the  resurrection  itself  could  not 
have  had  this  effect,  because  Thomas  had  often 
witnessed  the  miracles  of  his  Master,  without  once 
confessing  that  he  was  God ;  and  no  other  evi- 
dence was  at  this  time  offered.  Thirdly,  if  Jesus  "i 
was  on  this  occasion  acknowledged  to  be  God,  it 
might  be  expected  that  the  writer  of  the  narrative 
should  take  some  notice  of  the  circumstance  ;  but 
what  are  his  words,  immediately  after  relating 
this  event  ?  "  These  are  written,  that  ye  mighf 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  G-od  "  ; 
not  God  himself.  Fourthly,  the  exclamation 
itself  is  abrupt,  and  without  any  connection  to  de- 


128  THOMAS. 

termine  precisely  its  meaning.  It  might  not  have 
been  addressed  to  Jesus  at  all,  but  to  God  alone ; 
or  the  first  appellation  might  have  been  addressed 
to  him,  and  the  second  to  Heaven ;  it  was  an 
exclamation,  in  short,  of  wonder,  of  ecstatic  won- 
der, of  ecstatic  gratitude,  and  just  such  a  one  as 
any  of  us  would  be  likely  to  utter  on  witnessing 
a  similar  marvel ;  such,  for  instance,  as  the  resur- 
rection of  a  dear  friend  from  the  grave.  Fifthly, 
3^  if  the  whole  exclamation  was  really  addressed  to 
Jesus,  the  term  God  might  well  have  been  ap- 
plied, according  to  known  Jewish  usage,  and  in 
its  lower  sense,  to  one  who  now  had  manifested 
undeniably  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  King  of  Israel. 
Lastly,  the  answer  of  Jesus  himself  excludes  the 
supposition  that  he  was  addressed  as  the  Supreme 
God.  For  he  said  unto  his  disciple,  "  Thomas, 
because  thou  hast  seen  me  thou  hast  believecl ; 
blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed. "  Now  this  must  mean,  "  Because  thou 
hast  seen  me  here  alive,  after  my  crucifixion  and 
burial,  thou  hast  believed  that  I  am  raised  from 
the  dead ;  and  it  is  well ;  but  blessed  are  they 
who  cannot  have  such  evidence  of  the  senses, 
and  yet  shall  believe  in  the  glorious  truth,  from 
your  evidence,  and  that  of  your  brethren."  He 
could  not  have  meant  that  they  were  blessed, 
who,  though  they  had  not  seen  him,  yet  had  bo- 


u 


THOMAS.  129 

lieved  that  he  was  God  ;  because  there  is  no  con- 
nection between  the  propositions ;  because  the 
fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  cannot,  to  the 
mind  of  any  one,  be  of  itself  a  proof  of  his  Deity  ; 
and  because  no  one  thinks  of  requiring  to  see 
God,  in  order  to  believe  that  he  exists.  In  con- 
clusion, it  must  be  remembered,  that  these  con- 
siderations are  so  obvious  that  they  have  been 
fully  adopted  by  some  of  those  who  still  have 
professed  their  belief,  founded  on  other  evidence, 
of  the  Deity  of  Christ. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  decided  and 
resolute  character  of  Thomas  fitted  him  emi- 
nently for  his  apostolic  duties.  But  the  accounts 
which  we  have  of  his  life  and  works  after  the 
ascension  of  his  Master,  though  sufficiently  co- 
pious, are  too  contradictory  to  claim  our  entire 
confidence.  Some  general  facts,  however,  seem 
to  be  well  established,  and  they  are  of  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  character.  There  is  no  good 
reason  to  doubt  that  this  apostle  penetrated  as 
far  into  the  East  with  his  heavenly  mission  as  to 
the  Coromandel  and  Malabar  Coasts  of  Indostan, 
and  even  to  Taprobane,  or  Ceylon,  visiting  and 
preaching  in  other  countries  by  the  way.  On 
those  coasts  he  made  a  great  number  of  converts, 
the  descendants  of  whom,  still  professing  Chris- 
tianity, exist  in  that  part  of  India  at  the  present 
day,  and  are  called  the  St.  Thomas  Christians, 
6*  i 


130  THOMAS. 

according  to  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Buchanan, 
Bishop  Heber,  and  other  enlightened  travellers. 
This  is  a  remarkable  confirmation  of  the  general 
statements  of  early  ecclesiastical  writers ;  and  is 
a  proof  that  we  may  receive  many  of  their  princi- 
pal facts,  without  relying  on  their  minute  details 
or  marvellous  legends.  These  Christians  of  St. 
Thomas  were  known  to  the  Western  world  in 
early  times,  but  appear  to  have  been  lost  sight 
of  afterwards,  till  they  were  again  discovered  by 
navigators  at  the  commencement  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  see  of  Rome  endeavored  to  bring 
them  under  its  subjection,  but  with  only  partial 
success.  A  part  of  them  are  now  Roman  Cath- 
olics, but  the  majority  form  a  church  entirely 
independent  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  They 
possess  the  New  Testament  in  the  Syriac  lan- 
guage. 

The  martyrdom  of  Thomas  is  stated  to  have 
taken  place  at  Malipur  or  Meliapor,  on  the  Coro- 
mandel  coast,  nor  far  from  the  present  city  of 
Madras,  where  he  had  converted  the  king  of  the 
country  and  many  of  his  subjects,  and  had  built 
a  church.  The  Brahmins  were  enraged  at  his 
success,  and  by  one  of  them  he  was  run  through 
the  body  with  a  lance,  while  he  was  kneeling  at 
his  devotions  before  a  tomb.  He  was  buried  in 
the  church  which  he  had  built ;  but  his  bones  are 
said  to  have  been  afterwards  translated  to  Edessa 
in  Mesopotamia. 


THOMAS.  131 

The  following  narrative  by  Bishop  Heber, 
touching  these  events  in  the  life  of  St.  Thomas, 
is  taken  from  his  Journal  in  India,  Yol.  III.  pages 
212-214:  — 

"  We  went  in  a  carriage  to  the  military  station 
of  St.  Thomas's  Mount,  eight  miles  from  Madras, 
intending,  in  our  way,  to  visit  the  spot  marked 
out  by  tradition  as  the  place  where  the  Apostle 
St.  Thomas  was  martyred.  Unfortunately  the 
'Little  Mount,'  as  this  is  called  (being  a  small 
rocky  knoll  with  a  Roman  Catholic  church  on 
it,  close  to  Marmalong  Bridge  in  the  suburb  of 
Meilapoor),  is  so  insignificant,  and  so  much  nearer 
Madras  than  we  had  been  given  to  understand, 
that  it  did  not  attract  our  attention  until  too  late. 
That  it  really  is  the  place,  I  see  no  good  reason 
for  doubting ;  there  is  as  fair  historical  evidence 
as  the  case  requires,  that  St.  Thomas  preached 
the  Gospel  in  India,  and  was  martyred  at  a  place 
named  Milliapoor  or  Meilapoor.  The  Eastern 
Christians,  whom  the  Portuguese  found  in  India, 
all  agreed  in  marking  out  this  as  the  spot,  and  in 
saying  that  the  bones,  originally  buried  here,  had 
been  carried  away  as  relics  to  Syria.  They  and 
even  the  surrounding  heathen  appear  to  have 
always  venerated  the  spot,  as  these  last  still  do, 
and  to  have  offered  gifts  here  on  the  supposed 
anniversary  of  his  martyrdom.  And  as  the  story 
contains  nothing  improbable  from  beginning  to 


132  THOMAS. 

end  (except  a  trumpery  fabrication  of  some  relics 
found  here  by  the  Portuguese  monks  about  a 
century  and  a  half  ago),  so  it  is  not  easy  to  ac- 
count for  the  origin  of  such  a  story  among  men 
of  different  religions,  unless  there  were  some 
foundation  for  it. 

"  I  know  it  has  been  sometimes  fancied  that 
the  person  who  planted  Christianity  in  India  was  a 
Nestorian  Bishop  named  Thomas,  not  St.  Thomas 
the  Apostle ;  but  this  rests,  absolutely,  on  no 
foundation  but  a  supposition,  equally  gratuitous 
and  contrary  to  all  early  ecclesiastical  history, 
that  none  of  the  apostles  except  St.  Paul  went 
far  from  Judaga.  To  this  it  is  enough  to  answer, 
that  we  have  no  reason  why  they  should  not  have 
done  so ;  or  why,  while  St.  Paul  went,  or  intended 
to  go,  to  the  shores  of  the  further  West,  St. 
Thomas  should  not  have  been  equally  laborious 
and  enterprising  in  an  opposite  direction.  But 
that  all  the  apostles,  except  the  two  St.  Jameses, 
did  really  go  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  world,  as  it  was,  a  priori,  to  be 
expected,  —  that  they  did  so  we  have  the  author- 
ity of  Eusebius  and  the  old  Martyrologies,  which 
is  at  least  as  good  as  the  doubts  of  a  later  age, 
and  which  would  be  reckoned  conclusive,  if  the 
question  related  to  any  point  of  civil  history. 
Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  there  were  Jews 
settled  in  India  at  a  very  early  period,  to  convert 


THOMAS.  133 

whom  would  naturally  induce  an  apostle  to  think 
of  coming  hither  ;  that  the  passage  either  from 
the  Persian  Gulf  or  the  Red  Sea  is  neither  long 
nor  difficult,  and  was  then  extremely  common; 
and  that  it  may  be,  therefore,  as  readily  believed 
that  St.  Thomas  was  slain  at  Meilapoor,  as  that 
St.  Paul  was  beheaded  at  Rome,  or  that  Leonidas 
fell  at  Thermopylae.  Under  these  feelings,  I  left 
the  spot  behind  with  regret,  and  shall  visit  it,  if  I 
return  to  Madras,  with  a  reverent,  though,  I  hope, 
not  a  superstitious  interest  and  curiosity. 

"The  Larger  Mount,  as  it  is  called,  of  St. 
Thomas,  is  a  much  more  striking  spot,  being  an 
insulated  cliff  of  granite,  with  an  old  church  on 
the  summit,  the  property  of  those  Armenians  who 
are  united  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  is  also 
dedicated  to  St.  Thomas,  but  (what  greatly  proves 
the  authenticity  of  its  rival)  none  of  the  sects  of 
Christians  or  Hindoos  consider  it  as  having  been 
in  any  remarkable  manner  graced  by  his  presence 
or  burial.  It  is  a  picturesque  little  building,  and 
commands  a  fine  view." 

A  legend  is  quoted  by  Cave,  from  Gregory  of 
Tours,  concerning  the  tomb  of  this  apostle  at 
Malipur,  which,  though  deserving  of  no  more 
credit  than  other  legends  of  the  same  class,  is 
pleasing  to  the  imagination.  A  lamp,  says  the 
legend,  hangs  befora  his  tomb,  which  burns 
perpetually,  needing  no  oil,  and  undisturbed  by 


134  TnoMAS. 

the  wind  or  any  accident  whatever.  Possibly  a 
gaseous  fountain  might  once  have  existed  there, 
which  would  be  a  sufficient  origin  for  the  story ; 
or  some  deception  may  have  been  practised  by 
the  priests. 

The  21st  of  December  is  St..  Thomas's  day  in 
the  Western  Calendar. 


MATTHEW. 

Matthew  places  himself  the  eighth  on  his  list, 
and  styles  himself  "  the  Publican."  This  avowal 
of  his  profession  is  at  once  a  proof  of  his  humility 
and  his  good  sense.  He  had  the  meekness  to  set 
himself  down  exactly  what  he  was,  notwithstand- 
ing the  contempt  which  the  confession  might 
bring  upon  him ;  and  he  had  the  wisdom  to  per- 
ceive that  there  was  no  rank  or  occupation  in 
life,  however  low,  which  could  change  the  nature 
of  true  worth,  or  really  disgrace  an  honest  and 
virtuous  man. 

To  the  Jews,  above  all  other  people,  publican 
was  an  odious  name.  There  is  a  use  of  this 
word  among  us,  a  low  and  improper  use,  which 
has  nothing  to  do  with  its  true  signification  and 
its  Scripture  sense ;  for  a  publican  does  not  mean, 
in  the  Gospels,  an  innkeeper,  but  a  tax-gatherer,  or 
a  receiver  of  the  tribute  imposed  by  government. 
The  Romans  employed  these  receivers  of  tribute, 
or  publicans,  in  all  their  provinces,  and,  among 
the  rest,  in  Judaea.  Now,  to  pay  tribute  was  not 
only  a  constant  acknowledgment  and  badge  of 


136  MATTHEW. 

subjection  and  servitude,  but  to  the  Jews  it  was 
something  more  galling  still,  because  it  wounded 
their  religious  as  well  as  their  political  pride.  It 
was  a  thought  of  pure,  unmitigated  bitterness, 
that  the  people  of  God  should  thus  pass  periodi- 
cally under  the  hated  yoke  of  idolaters,  and,  as 
they  would  call  them  in  their  haughty  exclusive- 
ness,  barbarians.  The  office  itself  being  thus 
detestable,  it  may  be  conceived  how  those  per- 
sons must  have  been  looked  upon  who  held  and 
exercised  it. 

There  were  two  orders,  however,  among  the 
publicans,  —  the  receivers  general,  who  had  depu- 
ties under  them,  and  these  deputies  themselves. 
The  former  were  usually  selected  from  the  best 
classes  of  society ;  but  the  latter  were  reckoned 
ignoble  and  contemptible,  even  by  the  Gentiles, 
and  were,  as  a  body,  vulgar,  rapacious,  and  un- 
merciful. Some  one  asked  Theocritus  which  was 
the  most  cruel  of  all  beasts ;  and  he  answered, 
"  Among  the  beasts  of  the  wilderness,  the  bear 
and  the  lion ;  among  the  beasts  of  the  city,  the 
publican  and  the  parasite."  Of  the  higher  order 
of  publicans  at  Jerusalem  one  is  probably  men- 
tioned in  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  by  the  name  of 
Zacchaeus,  who  is  there  said  to  be  "  the  chief 
among  the  publicans,"  and  a  rich  man.  Of  the 
lower  order  were  those  who  are  so  frequently 
classed  in  the  Scriptures  with  sinners ;  and  of 


MATTHEW.  137 

this  order  was  Matthew.  They  were  all,  high 
and  low,  for  the  reasons  just  given,  regarded  with 
abhorrence  by  the  Jews,  and  treated  as  a  profane 
and  outcast  set  of  people.  "  Let  him  be  unto 
thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  publican "  is  a 
phrase  which  expresses  strongly  the  universal 
ban  which  was  suspended  over  them.  We  are 
told  that,  though  a  publican  might  be  a  Jew,  he 
was  hardly  recognized  as  such  by  his  country- 
men ;  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  enter  the  tem- 
ple, nor  give  testimony  in  courts  of  justice ;  that 
the  gifts,  even,  which  his  devotion  might  prompt 
him  to  offer,  were  rejected  from  the  altar  of  Je- 
hovah, as  unclean  and  abominable. 

Bearing  these  things  in  mind,  we  can  now  es- 
timate the  self-denial  of  the  apostle,  who,  with  a 
firm  pen,  could  write  himself  down,  "  Matthew, 
the  Publican." 

In  the  second  chapter  of  Mark,  he  is  said  to  be 
the  son  of  Alpheus ;  but  whether  this  Alpheus  is 
the  same  with  the  father  of  James  the  Less,  or 
another  individual,  is  uncertain.  His  place  of 
residence  was  in  Capernaum,  or  somewhere  near 
it,  on  the  sea  of  Tiberias.  Though  he  constantly 
calls  himself  Matthew,  he  is  called  Levi  by  the 
other  evangelists ;  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that 
Levi  and  Matthew  have  been  supposed  by  some 
celebrated  scholars  to  be  two  different  persons. 
But  the  circumstances  of  Matthew's  call  to  be  a 


138  MATTHEW. 

disciple,  as  related  in  his  own  Gospel,  are  so  pre- 
cisely similar  to  those  which  attend  the  call  of 
Levi,  as  related  in  the  Gospels  of  Mark  and  Luke, 
that  the  predominant  opinion  has  always  been, 
that  Matthew  and  Levi  were  only  two  names  for 
one  and  the  same  person. 

Though  a  publican,  of  an  inferior  rank,  be- 
longing to  a  class  of  men  who  were  considered 
vile,  and  who  generally  deserved  their  reputation, 
Matthew  was  an  upright  and  religious  man ;  and 
there  was  one  of  his  countrymen,  if  there  were 
no  more,  who  could  separate  the  man  from  the 
profession,  and  fearlessly  engage  him  for  his 
companion  and  friend.  It  was  he  who  saw  him 
sitting  in  his  place  of  business,  or  at  the  receipt 
of  custom,  as  it  is  called,  and  said  unto  him, 
"Follow  me."*  These  were  words,  which,  from 
those  lips,  could  not  be  uttered  in  vain  ;  and  the 
humble  publican,  who  probably  had  before  heard 
the  discourses  of  Jesus,  and  heard  them  with 
admiration,  and  seen  also  some  of  the  wonders 
which  he  had  done,  immediately  arose  and  fol- 
lowed him. 

*  It  appears  from  the  relation  of  Mark,  in  the  second  chapter 
of  his  Gospel,  that  Matthew's  official  station  was  at  the  seaside, 
where  he  was  sitting  when  Jesus  called  him.  Commentators  say 
that  the  particular  duty  of  Matthew  as  a  publican  was  to  gather 
the  customs  of  commodities  which  came  by  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and 
the  tribute  which  passengers  were  to  pay  who  went  by  water 
According  to  this  statement,  he  was  a  toll-gatherer. 


MATTHEW.  139 

Our  Saviour,  after  having  called  Matthew, 
went  to  his  house ;  and  there  his  new  disciple 
prepared  a  supper  for  him ;  and  many  publicans 
and  sinners,  the  former  associates  of  Matthew, 
came  and  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his  disciples. 
When  some  Pharisees,  who  were  present,  saw 
this,  they  said  to  the  disciples,  "  Why  eateth  your 
Master  with  publicans  and  sinners?  But  when 
Jesus  heard  that,  he  said  unto  them,  They  who 
are  whole  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  who  are 
sick.  But  go  ye,  and  learn  what  that  meaneth, 
I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice  ;  for  I  am  not 
come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repent- 
ance." 

In  both  of  these  incidents,  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  character  of  its  founder  are  con- 
spicuous. The  call  of  a  publican  to  be  a  follower 
of  Christ  and  a  herald  of  his  religion  was  a  sign 
of  the  sublime  superiority  of  the  new  faith,  in  its 
impartiality  and  mercy,  over  the  bigotries  of  the 
old  ;  and  evinces  the  discernment  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  Jesus  in  selecting  a  worthy  disciple 
from  an  order  of  men  among  whom  common 
opinion  had  pronounced  that  there  was  no  worth 
to  be  found.  And  in  sitting  down  to  eat  —  that 
greatest  token  of  familiarity  —  in  the  house  of  this 
publican,  and  with  a  mixed  company  of  reputed 
sinners,  Jesus  again  manifests  the  universal  be- 
nevolence of  his  temper  and  his  doctrine.      To 


140  MATTHEW. 

the  hypocritical  Pharisees,  it  was  indeed  a  strange 
and  scandalous  thing,  that  one  who  set  up  as  the 
Messiah  of  Israel,  and  the  purifier  of  its  ordi- 
nances, should  take  a  publican  to  be  a  pupil,  and 
break -bread  with  other  publicans  and  notorious 
sinners;  but  how  well  are  their  narrow  preju- 
dices and  their  supercilious  and  uncharitable  self- 
righteousness  rebuked  by  the  steadfast  reply  of 
the  Saviour !  a  The  religion  which  I  would  in- 
culcate," as  the  reply  may  be  paraphrased,  "  em- 
braces in  its  pure  mercy  the  whole  family  of 
man ;  it  draws  no  impassable  line  between  the 
privileged  and  the  profane ;  it  leaves  none  to  de- 
spair of  Heaven's  favor  and  acceptance.  If  ye 
are  perfect,  if  ye  are  whole,  my  errand  is  not  to 
you;  go;  go  to  your  temple  and  perform  your 
rites ;  but  when  there,  study  the  meaning  of  that 
scripture,  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice. 
As  for  these,  they  are  sick ;  they  need  a  phy- 
sician, and  I  must  heal  them ;  ye  yourselves  say 
that  they  are  sinners,  and  why  shall  I  not  call 
them  to  repentance,  and  save  them  ? " 

With  what  has  been  now  told  from  the  Gospels 
concerning  Matthew,  we  must  rest  contented ; 
but  even  from  these  slight  memorials  we  shall 
gain  a  highly  favorable  impression  of  his  charac- 
ter. In  his  depressed  condition  as  a  publican, 
he  seems  to  have  learned  the  valuable  lesson  of 
humility;    and  thus  to  have  become  "almost  a 


MATTHEW.  141 

Christian,"  before  he  was  a  follower  of  Christ. 
Among  his  vile  companions,  whom  public  oblo- 
quy had  made  yet  more  vile  than  their  habits 
and  their  occupation  would  have  made  them,  he 
was  upright,  honest,  merciful,  uncontaminated. 
His  integrity  appears  doubly  bright  by  contrast, 
amidst  the  dark  examples  and  fearful  tempta- 
tions which  were  all  around  it  like  clouds  ;  and 
his  virtue,  reared  among  quicksands  and  waves, 
proved,  simply  by  its  being  and  standing  there, 
how  very  deeply  and  strongly  its  foundations 
were  laid.  It  is  further  to  be  remarked,  that 
though  he  was  the  writer  of  one  of  the  Gospel 
histories,  he  says  nothing  more  of  himself  than 
that  he  was  called  to  follow  Jesus,  while  he  was 
sitting  in  his  office,  and  that  he  afterwards  enter- 
tained his  Master  at  his  house  ;  and  this  latter 
circumstance  he  only  mentions  in  order  that  he 
may  introduce  the  answer  of  Jesus  to  the  Phari- 
sees. We  could  have  no  better  evidence  than 
this  of  his  disinterestedness  and  modesty. 

His  Gospel  is  everywhere  distinguished  by 
plain  good  sense  and  manly  simplicity.  It  was 
written,  as  some  of  the  ancients  say,  fifteen  years 
after  the  ascension  of  our  Saviour,  or,  as  others 
affirm,  yet  seven  years  earlier,  or,  according  to 
yet  others,  at  a  considerably  later  period  than  the 
latest  of  these  two  dates,  that  is,  about  the  year 
60,  or  between  60  and  70  of  our  era,  while  Peter 


142  MATTHEW. 

and  Paul  were  preaching  at  Rome.  Although 
some  critics  have  advanced  the  opinion  that 
Luke's  Gospel  was  the  first  which  was  written, 
the  general  voice  of  antiquity  is  against  them, 
and  a  majority  also,  I  believe,  of  the  moderns. 
So  that  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  really  stands,  in 
all  probability,  where  a  place  is  given  to  it  in  our 
Bibles,  —  the  first  in  order  of  the  four  evangelical 
histories. 

Another  circumstance  respecting  this  Gospel, 
which  the  earliest  ecclesiastical  authors  record, 
and  which,  though  it  has  been  controverted,  is 
most  probably  a  fact,  is,  that  we  do  not  possess 
it  in  the  language  in  which  it  was  originally  com- 
//poscd.     It   was   written   by   Matthew,   according 
//to  the  best  testimony,  at  Jerusalem,  on  purpose 
I  for  the  Jewish  converts,  and  in  that  modern  dia- 
\lect  or  species  of  Hebrew  which  was  the  common 
language,  at  that  time,  of  Palestine.     The  Gospel 
in  that  language  has  been  lost,  it  is   supposed, 
irretrievably.     That  which  we  have  is  a  transla- 
tion of  it  into  Greek,  made  very  soon  after  the 
original  was  composed.     There  is  no  reason  to 
challenge  its  exact  faithfulness  to  the  original ; 
and  some  have  even  supposed  that  Matthew  him- 
self was  the  author  of  this  Greek  rendering  of  his 
\own  Hebrew  Gospel.     The  predominant  opinion 
is,  however,  that  the  name  of  the  translator,  and 
the  Gospel  which  he  translated,  are  alike  unknown 


MATTHEW.  143 

and  undiscoverable.  Though  we  may  be  allowed 
to  regret  that  we  cannot  look  on  the  very  words 
which  this  excellent  apostle  used  in  narrating, 
for  our  exceeding  benefit,  the  life  and  actions  of 
his  Master,  yet  our  faith  ought  not  to  be  in  the 
least  disturbed  by  the  loss,  while  there  remains 
to  us  a  translation  of  his  history,  so  manifestly 
ancient,  complete,  and  true. 

I  am  well  aware  that  there  are  great  names  to 
be  brought  against  the  commonly  received  opin- 
ions of  the  priority  of  Matthew's  Gospel,  and  its 
having  been  originally  written  in  Hebrew.  There 
are  also  great  names  in  favor  of  those  opinions. 
And  I  confess  I  am  somewhat  surprised  that  the 
name  of  Lardner  stands  in  the  former  class. 
Irenseus,  on  whose  authority,  as  being  the  most 
ancient,  he  justly  relies,  expressly  says  that  the 
Gospel  was  written  in  Hebrew ;  and  though  he 
seems  to  assign  the  latest  of  the  three  dates  to 
its  composition,  he  evidently  means  to  leave  the 
impression  that  it  was  written  before  the  other 
Gospels.  I  will  now  give  the  passage  from  Ire- 
naeus  —  who  wrote  about  the  year  178  —  pre- 
cisely as  it  is  given  in  Lardner' s  own  immortal 
work. 

"  Matthew  then  among  the  Jews  wrote  a  gospel 
in  their  own  language,  while  Peter  and  Paul  were 
preaching  the  gospel  at  Rome,  and  founding  [or 
establishing]  the  church  there.     And  after  their 


144  MATTHEW. 

/exit  [that  is,  death,  or  departure]  Mark  also,  the 
II  disciple  and  interpreter  of  Peter,  delivered  to  ns, 
//    in  writing,  the  things  that  had  been  preached  by 
(I      Peter.     And  Luke,  the  companion  of  Paul,  put 
down   in   a  book   the   gospel   preached  by  him. 
\\     Afterwards  John   the  disciple  of  the  Lord,  who 
\\    leaned  upon  his  breast,  likewise  published  a  gos- 
pel, whilst  he  dwelt  at  Ephesus,  in  Asia." 

And  the  next  authority  cited  by  Lardner  is 
that  of  Origen,  who  says,  about  the  year  230, 
"  that  according  to  the  tradition  received  by  him, 
the  first  gospel  was  written  by  Matthew,  once  a 
publican,  afterwards  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
who  delivered  it  to  the  Jewish  believers,  com- 
posed in  the  Hebrew  language."  To  the  same 
purpose  is  the  testimony  of  Eusebius,  the  third 
cited  authority. 

Although  Dr.  Lardner's  arguments  against  the 
Hebrew  original  of  Matthew's  Gospel  are  learned 
and  ingenious,  they  cannot  convince  me  in  oppo- 
sition to  such  authorities.  And  let  it  be  observed, 
that  the  date  assigned  by  Irenaeus  to  its  compo- 
sition is  not  a  fixed  and  certain  date,  because 
the  period  of  the  preaching  of  Peter  and  Paul  at 
Rome  is  not  a  fixed  or  certain  year.  But  the 
priority  of  the  Gospel  is  a  fixed  and  certain  fact, 
according  to  that  Father,  and  so  is  the  language 
in  which  it  was  written. 

Matthew  is  said  to  have  carried  the  religion 


MATTHEW.  145 

of  Jesus  into  Partbia  and  Ethiopia,  and  to  have 
suffered  martyrdom  at  Naddaber,  in  the  latter 
country,  but  by  what  death  is  uncertain.  We 
are  told  also  that  his  remains  were  brought  to 
Bithynia,  and  from  thence  to  Salernum,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  where  they  were  discovered 
in  the  year  1080,  and  where  a  church  was  built 
for  them  by  Duke  Robert,  in  the  pontificate  of 
Gregory  VII.  We  can  readily  believe  that  relics 
were  thus  found  and  honored,  which  were  de 
clared,  and  by  many  supposed,  to  be  the  body  of 
the  apostle ;  but  that  they  really  were  so,  we  are 
at  perfect  liberty  to  question  and  to  deny. 

Matthew's  festival  is  on  the  21st  of  September. 


JAMES    THE    LESS. 

Next  to  his  own  name,  Matthew  writes  that 
of  "  James,  the  son  of  Alpheus " ;  who  is  also 
called,  in  the  Gospel  of  Mark,  "  James  the  Less," 
or  the  younger,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  other 
apostle  of  the  same  name,  James  the  brother  of 
John,  who  was  older  than  he ;  or  it  may  be  that 
he  was  of  small  stature,  and  therefore  named 
"  the  less." 

His  mother's  name  was  Mary.  She  was  one 
of  the  Marys  who  were  present  at  the  crucifixion 
of  our  Saviour ;  and  appears  to  have  been  the 
sister  of  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus.  In  the  Gos- 
pel of  Mark  she  is  called  "  Mary,  the  mother  of 
James  the  Less,  and  of  Joses."  In  a  parallel 
passage  of  John's  Gospel,  she  is  mentioned  as 
follows :  "  There  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus, 
his  mother,  and  his  mother's  sister,  Mary  the 
wife  of  Cleophas,  and  Mary  Magdalene."  From 
these  passages  the  inference  is  justly  drawn,  that 
James  the  Less  was  the  first  cousin  of  Jesus. 
He  is  expressly  called  the  son  of  Alpheus  and  of 
Mary  ;  and  as  Mary,  who  was  the  wife  of  Alpheus, 


JAMES   THE  LESS.  147 

winch  is  only  the  Greek  pronunciation  of  the 
Hebrew  name  Cleophas,  is  also  termed  in  the 
same  passage  the  sister  of  our  Lord's  mother,  he 
is  consequently  our  Lord's  cousin. 

He  is  the  same  person  who  is  mentioned  by 
Paul,  when  he  says,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  "  But  other  of  the  apostles  saw  I  none, 
save  James,  the  Lord's  brother."  To  account  for 
this  appellation,  it  must  be  observed  that  the  Jews 
were  accustomed  to  include  all  near  relations 
under  the  general  name  of  brethren.  And  we 
may  also  remark,  that,  though  it  appears  strange 
that  Mary  should  be  the  sister  of  Mary,  it  was 
not  uncommon  among  the  Jews,  that  two  sisters 
of  the  same  family  should  bear  the  same  name. 
James  is  likewise  enumerated  among  the  Lord's 
brethren  by  the  Jews,  when  they  asked  in  aston- 
ishment, "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son  ?  is 
not  his  mother  called  Mary  ?  and  his  brethren, 
James,  and  Joses,  and  Simon,  and  Judas  ?  "  Of 
these  four  sons,  three  were  apostles  of  Jesus  ;  and 
the  other  one,  Joses,  or  Joseph,  was  probably  a 
disciple ;  as  was  Cleophas  too,  or  Alpheus,  the 
father  of  this  Christian  family. 

The  exact  relationship  to  Jesus  of  James  the 
Less,  and  others  who  are  called  his  brethren, 
was  a  matter  of  controversy  in  very  early  times. 
Respectable  names  appear  on  each  side ;  and 
Cave  says  that  a  majority  of  the  ancients  were  of 


148  JAMES  THE   LESS. 

opinion  that  these  "  brethren  "  were  actually  the 
sons  of  Joseph  by  a  former  wife.  It  has  appeared 
to  me  that  the  other  opinion  is  the  most  likely 
to  be  the  true  one,  and  I  have  therefore  called 
James  the  cousin  of  Jesus.  One  of  the  strongest 
arguments  for  this  view  of  the  relationship  is, 
that  the  father  of  James  is  called  Alpheus,  and 
not  Joseph,  and  that  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleophas 
is  mentioned  in  the  Gospel  of  John  as  a  person 
entirely  distinct  from  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and 
further  appears  to  be  the  same  who  is  called  by 
Mark  the  mother  of  James  the  Less  and  of  Joses. 
Now  Alpheus  and  Cleophas  being  the  same 
name,  the  chain  of  testimony  is  complete,  —  so 
complete,  that  I  wonder  any  question  should  ever 
have  been  raised  on  the  subject.  It  may  be 
added,  that  Lardner  inclines  to  the  opinion  that 
James  was  cousin  to  our  Lord. 

No  particulars  are  related  of  James  in  the 
Gospels ;  but  honorable  mention  is  made  of  him 
in  the  Book  of  Acts  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul. 
Perhaps  his  youth  and  his  modesty,  together  with 
his  near  relationship  to  Jesus,  operated  upon  him 
to  be  silent  and  inactive  during  the  life  of  the 
Saviour,  though  afterwards  his  talents  and  worth 
made  him  conspicuous.  He  appears  to  have  re- 
sided constantly  at  Jerusalem,  and  to  have  been 
president  or  bishop  of  the  church  there.  All  an- 
tiquity affirms   this,  and  Scripture  gives  it  good 


JAMES  THE  LESS.  149 

countenance.  Thus  we  are  told  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  Acts,  that  when  Peter  had  been  mi- 
raculously delivered  from  the  prison  into  which 
he  had  been  thrown  by  Herod,  who  had  just  slain 
the  other  James,  he  went  to  the  house  of  a  believ 
ing  family,  and  said  to  those  who  were  there, 
u  Go,  show  these  things  unto  James,  and  the 
brethren."  James  is  evidently  spoken  of  here 
as  having  a  precedence  among  the  brethren. 
Again,  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  the  same  book, 
he  appears  to  have  been  the  presiding  member  of 
the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  of  which  I  have  before 
had  occasion  to  speak,  and  which  decided  that 
the  Gentiles  were  to  be  received,  on  their  con- 
version, into  the  full  privileges  of  the  Christian 
Church,  without  being  obliged  to  undergo  the 
ceremony  of  circumcision.  It  has  been  observed, 
that,  though  Peter  spoke  first  on  this  occasion, 
James  spoke  last,  and  gave  his  opinion  or  "  sen- 
tence "  with  regard  to  the  most  proper  course  to 
be  pursued,  and  that  the  letter  or  result  of  the 
council  was  chiefly  modelled  upon  his  words. 
From  these  circumstances  it  has  been  concluded 
that  he  was  the  moderator  or  president  of  this 
first  Christian  council,  and  that  this  rank  was 
probably  conceded  to  him  on  account  of  his  being 
the  presiding  apostle  01  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  in 
which  place  the  council  was  convened.  Peter, 
as   it  may  be   remembered,  agreed  with  James 


150  JAMES- THE   LESS. 

entirely  in  this  case ;  but,  though  in  some  sense 
chief  of  the  apostles,  it  is  evident  that  when  the 
Church  came  to  be  enlarged  and  settled,  he  did 
not  possess  any  general  supreme  authority,  but, 
as  in  the  present  council,  was  regarded,  and  re- 
garded himself,  as  in  subordination  to  the  local 
authorities.  The  speech  of  James  is  replete  with 
good  sense,  dignity,  and  a  spirit  of  charity  and 
forbearance,  and  sufficiently  indicates  the  wisdom 
of  his  brethren  in  making  him  bishop  or  overseer 
of  the  Christian  Church  at  Jerusalem. 

In  the  twenty-first  chapter  of  Acts  there  is  also 
a  particular  mention  of  James,  which  corroborates 
the  preceding  proofs  of  his  consequence  in  the' 
Church.  In  an  account  there  given  of  the  journey 
of  Paul  and  his  company  to  Jerusalem,  with  the 
collections  for  the  saints  in  Judaea,  the  writer  says : 
"  And  when  we  were  come  to  Jerusalem,  the 
brethren  received  us  gladly.  And  the  day  fol- 
lowing, Paul  went  in  with  us  unto  James;  and 
all  the  elders  were  present."  James  could  hardly 
have  been  singled  out  by  name  in  this  passage, 
for  any  other  reason  than  because  he  was  the 
chief  person  at  this  convocation  of  the  elders. 

To  all  this  evidence  of  the  standing  of  James 
and  the  high  consideration  in  which  he  was  held, 
the  testimony  of  Paul  himself  is  to  be  addedc 
One  passage  has  already  been  adduced  from  the 
first  chapter  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.     In 


JAMES   THE  LESS.  151 

the  second  chapter,  Paul  says:  "  And  when  James, 
Cephas,  and  John,  who  seemed  to  be  pillars,  per- 
ceived the  grace  that  was  given  unto  me,  they 
gave  to  me  and  Barnabas  the  right  hands  of  fel- 
lowship, that  we  should  go  unto  the  heathen,  and 
they  unto  the  circumcision."  Here  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  James  is  not  only  called  one  of  the 
pillars  of  the  Church,  but  is  placed  at  the  head  of 
the  three  ;  even  before  Cephas,  or  Peter.  At  the 
same  time  we  ought  to  observe  that  ecclesiastical 
rank  was  by  no  means,  in  those  primitive  times, 
that  thing  of  name  and'pomp  and  prerogative  that 
it  has  since  been  made  in  most  of  the  churches 
of  Christendom  ;  for  if  James  had  been  the  bishop 
of  Jerusalem  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the 
title  is  now  applied,  Paul  would  never  have  said 
of  him  and  the  others,  that  they  "  seemed  to  be 
pillars," —  an  expression  which  plainly  signifies, 
that  they  appeared,  as  far  as  he  could  judge,  to 
be  the  first  men  in  the  Church.  In  truth,  a  bishop 
in  those  days  was  only  a  moderator  among  breth- 
ren and  equals,  appointed  to  the  office  by  them, 
and  appointed  to  it  for  his  superior  gifts  and  at- 
tainments. 

Once  more,  and  in  this  same  chapter,  is  James 
mentioned.  Paul,  in  relating  the  vacillating  con- 
duct of  Peter,  with  regard  to  eating  with  the 
Gentiles,  says,  in  the  words  which  I  have  already 
quoted  in  Peter's  life :  "  Before  that  certain  came 


152  JAMES  THE  LESS. 

from  James,  he  did  eat  with  the  Gentiles  ;  but 
when  they  were  come,  he  withdrew  and  sepa- 
rated himself."  Here  again  is  James  spoken  of 
as  a  person  of  consideration  and  authority. 

Thus  far  do  the  Scriptures  inform  us  of  the 
life  and  character  of  James  the  Less.  Ancient 
ecclesiastical  writers  have  much  to  say  of  his 
virtues  and  wisdom,  and  of  the  respect  which 
they  procured  for  him,  both  among  the  faithful 
and  the  unbelieving.  The  Jews,  we  are  told, 
were  unbounded  in  their  admiration  of  him  ;  in- 
somuch that,  as  Jerome  affirms,  they  used  to 
strive  to  touch  the  hem  of  his  garment.  On  ac- 
count of  his  remarkable  integrity,  he  obtained 
another  surname  beside  that  which  is  given  to 
him  in  the  Scriptures,  and  was  called  James  the 
Just.  Some  go  so  far  as  to  say,  that  he  was  al- 
lowed to  enter  into  the  Holy  of  Holies  of  the  Jew- 
ish temple ;  but  this  must  be  a  fiction.  It  is  a 
fiction,  however,  which,  together  with  other  sim- 
ilar ones,  shows  that  there  must  have  been  a 
foundation  for  them  in  the  high  character  and 
reputation  of  this  apostle. 

The  circumstances  of  his  death  are  differently 
stated.  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  is  sup- 
posed to  relate  it  in  the  following  passage  from 
the  twentieth  book  of  his  Antiquities,  which  I  give 
in  the  translation  of  L'Estrange.  "  The  Ananus 
we  are  now  speaking  of  [who  had  recently  been 


JAMES  THE   LESS.  153 

raised  to  the  high-priesthood  by  Agrippa]  was 
naturally  fierce  and  hardy ;  by  sect  a  Sadducee, 
the  most  censorious  and  uncharitable  sort  of  peo- 
ple upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  This  being  his 
way  and  opinion,  he  took  his  opportunity,  in  the 
interval  betwixt  the  death  of  Festus  and  the  arri- 
val of  his  successor  Albinus,  who  was  as  yet  but 
upon  the  way,  to  call  a  council  together,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  judges,  and  to  cite  James,  the 
brother  of  Jesus,  which  was  called  Christ,  with 
some  others,  to  appear  before  them,  and  answer 
to  a  charge  of  blasphemy,  and  breach  of  the  law ; 
whereupon  they  were  condemned,  and  delivered 
up  to  be  stoned."  The  account  proceeds  to  say 
that  all  the  sober  and  conscientious  part  of  the 
city  were  so  much  offended  with  this  high-handed 
way  of  acting,  that  they  sent  a  representation  of 
it,  with  a  remonstrance,  both  to  King  Agrippa 
and  to  Albinus ;  the  consequence  of  which  was, 
that  Ananus  was  deposed  by  Agrippa  from  the 
pontificate.  This  passage  would  be  decisive, 
were  it  not  that  several  learned  men  question  the 
genuineness  of  the  words,  "  the  brother  of  Jesus 
which  was  called  Christ."  Lardner  thinks  that 
they  are  an  interpolation,  and  inclines  to  the  ac- 
count given  by  Eusebius,  in  the  second  book  of 
his  Ecclesiastical  History  ;  who  says,  "  When 
Paul  had  appealed  to  Caesar,  and  had  been  sent 
to  Rome  by  Festus,  the  Jews,  who  had  aimed  at 

7* 


154  JAMES   THE  LESS. 

his  death,  being  disappointed  in  that  design, 
turned  their  rage  against  James,  the  Lord's  broth- 
er, who  had  been  appointed  by  the  apostles  bishop 
of  Jerusalem  " ;  and  then  he  goes  on  to  state  that 
James  was  killed  in  a  popular  tumult.  If  this 
narrative  is  the  true  one,  it  makes  the  death  of 
the  apostle  a  year  or  two  earlier  than  it  is  dated 
by  Josephus ;  but  at  any  rate  we  may  safely  fix 
it  somewhere  about  the  year  60,  and  eight  or  ten 
years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  He 
was  buried,  according  to  Gregory,  bishop  of 
Tours,  on  Mount  Olivet,  in  a  tomb  which  he  had 
built  for  himself. 

So  great  was  the  reputation  of  James  for  sanc- 
tity, that  his  death  was  supposed  by  the  Jews 
themselves  to  have  hastened  the  destruction  of 
their  city.  Some  of  the  Fathers  tell  us  that  this 
was  asserted  by  Josephus ;  but  the  passage  is 
not  now  to  be  found  in  his  works.  Both  the  ac- 
counts of  James's  death  agree  that  he  was  stoned. 
It  is  added  in  the  relation  of  Hegesippus,  as  pre- 
served by  Eusebius,  that  he  was  finally  de- 
spatched by  the  blow  of  a  fuller's  club. 

The  following  excellent  summary  of  the  main 
facts  in  the  life  of  James  is  from  the  close  of 
Lardner's  account  of  that  apostle. 

"  James,  sometimes  called  the  Less,  the  son  of 
Alpheus,  and  called  the  Lord's  brother,  either  as 
being  the  son  of  Joseph  by  a  former  wife,  or  a 


JAMES   THE  LESS.  155 

relation  of  his  mother  Mary,  was  one  of  Christ's 
apostles.  We  have  no  account  of  the  time  when 
he  was  called  to  the  apostleship.  Nor  is  there 
anything  said  of  him  particularly  in  the  history 
of  our  Saviour  which  is  in  the  Gospels.  But 
from  the  Acts,  and  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  we  can 
perceive  that  after  our  Lord's  ascension  he  was 
of  note  among  the  apostles.  Soon  after  St.  Ste- 
phen's death  in  the  year  36,  or  thereabout,  he 
seems  to  have  been  appointed  president  or  su- 
perintendent in  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  where, 
and  in  Judaea,  he  resided  the  remaining  part  of 
his  life.  Accordingly,  he  presided  in  the  Council 
of  Jerusalem,  held  there  in  the  year  49  or  50. 
He  was  in  great  repute  among  the  Jewish  people, 
both  believers  and  unbelievers,  and  was  surnamed 
the  Just.  Notwithstanding  which,  he  suffered 
martyrdom  in  a  tumult  at  the  temple ;  and  prob- 
ably in  the  former  part  of  the  year  62." 

There  is  one  epistle,  among  the  canonical 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is  very  gen- 
erally ascribed  to  James  the  Less,  the  brother  or 
cousin  of  Jesus,  though  some  doubt  has  been  en- 
tertained of  its  authenticity  and  apostolic  author- 
ity, and  no  distinct  reference  to  it  is  to  be  found 
in  the  writings  of  the  earliest  Fathers.  In  the 
time  of  Eusebius,  however,  it  was  universally 
received  and  read  in  the  churches.  It  is  a  noble 
exhortation,  full  of  good  sense  and  spirit,  digni- 


156  JAMES   THE  LESS. 

fied,  independent,  and  explicit.  Its  value  is  of 
the  highest  description,  both  as  it  is  an  unreserved 
declaration  of  the  intrinsic  merit  and  importance 
of  good  works  or  virtue,  and  as  it  contains  a  most 
fearless,  indignant,  and  forcible  denunciation  of 
the  reigning  vices  and  follies  of  the  generation 
to  whom  the  apostle  wrote.  A  common  opinion 
among  the  ancient  writers  of  the  Church  is,  that 
the  first  part  of  it  was  composed  expressly  to  ex- 
plain those  passages  of  Paul's  epistles  which  seem 
to  slight  good  works,  and  make  everything  of 
faith,  or  mere  belief;  and  that  the  severe  rebukes 
and  warnings  which  are  contained  in  the  latter 
portion  of  it  were  the  chief  occasion  of  the  writ- 
er's being  stoned  to  death  by  the  Jewish  popu- 
lace ;  as  that  event  is  supposed  to  have  taken 
place  a  short  time  after  the  publication  of  the 
epistle. 

That  the  encomium  of  James  on  good  works 
was  intended  to  explain  some  of  those  things  in 
Paul's  writings  which  were  hard  to  be  under- 
stood is  not  improbable;  but  that  it  is  in  direct 
opposition  to  them,  as  some  have  thought,  is  not 
only  improbable,  but  impossible.  For  it  is  im- 
possible to  read  Paul's  description  of  charity,  in 
which  he  declares  that  it  is  greater  than  both 
faith  and  hope,  and  still  to  believe  that  he  would 
so  directly  contradict  himself  as  to  reverse  this 
order,  and  exalt  faith  above  charity ;   or  that  he 


JAMES  THE  LESS.  157 

intended  by  what  he  calls  works,  and  the  works 
of  the  law,  what  we  mean  by  good  works  and 
Christian  morality  or  virtue.  The  world  have 
been  too  long,  and  much  too  vehemently  disput- 
ing about  the  relative  superiority  of  faith  and 
works,  and  arraying  James  against  Paul,  and 
Paul  against  himself.  It  was,  perhaps,  a  strong 
bias  toward  one  side  of  this  controversy,  or  rather 
a  bigoted  and  dogmatical  attachment  to  it,  quite 
as  much  as  any  doubts  of  the  genuineness  and 
antiquity  of  James's  epistle,  which  induced  Luther 
to  call  it,  in  contempt,  "  an  epistle  of  straw."  * 
Despite,  however,  of  this  coarse  epithet  of  the 
Reformer,  it  has  maintained  its  authority  in  the 
Christian  Church,  —  an  authority  which,  if  intrin- 
sic excellence  and  internal  evidence  have  any 
weight,  it  amply  deserves. 

His  day  in  the  Calendar  is  May  1st,  which  is 
also  dedicated  to  the  Apostle  Philip. 

*  "  Epistola  straminea,"  a  strawy  epistle,  is  the  phrase  ap- 
plied by  Luther  to  the  epistle  of  James.  The  boldness,  and 
perhaps  even  the  rudeness,  of  the  great  Refoi*mer  qualified 
him  to  carry  through  his  enterprise  as  he  did,  under  circum- 
stances and  in  an  age  which  demanded  not  only  decision, 
but  a  rough,  uncompromising,  unfeeling  decision.  Granting 
this  to  be  the  case,  still  he  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  pattern 
of  Christian  meekness,  forbearance,  or  charity,  —  qualities  which 
neither  he,  nor  his  contemporary  Calvin,  in  any  great  degree 
possessed.  Luther  was  more  wild  in  his  doctrine  of  faith  than 
even  Calvin;  and  he  vented  his  spleen  against  good  works  on 
the  excellent  epistle  of  James,  in  an  expression  of  contempt 
which  would  not  be  tolerated  at  the  present  day. 


JUDE. 

The  apostle  who  stands  the  tenth  on  Matthew's 
list,  and  is  there  called  "  Lebbeus  whose  surname 
was  Thaddeus,"  is  called  in  Mark's  catalogue 
"  Thaddeus,"  and  in  Luke's,  "  Judas  the  brother 
of  James."  We  cannot  fail  to  remark  how  care- 
fully he  is  always  distinguished  from  the  other 
Judas.  Matthew  and  Mark  avoid  naming  him 
by  the  name  which  he  held  in  common  with  the 
traitor ;  and  Luke  takes  care  to  distinguish  him 
by  adding  to  that  ill-omened  appellation  that  he 
was  the  brother  of  James. 

Jude,  Judas,  and  Judah  are  one  and  the  same 
name.  Jude  is  merely  an  English  abbreviation 
of  Judas,  and  Judas  is  only  a  Greek  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  old  Hebrew  name  of  Judah.  It  means 
the  praise  of  the  Lord.  Thaddeus  is  derived 
from  the  same  root,  and  has  a  similar  significa- 
tion. Lebbeus  appears  to  mean  a  man  of  heart, 
or  courage,  being  derived  from  a  word  signifying 
the  heart.  These  two  last  names  were  probably 
adopted  to  distinguish  him  from  Judas  Iscariot. 

All  that  is  said  of  him  in  the  sacred  histories 


JUDE.  159 

is,  that  at  the  last  supper  he  asked  Jesus  why  he 
was  to  manifest  himself  to  his  disciples,  and  not 
to  the  world.  He  was  moved  to  put  this  question 
by  tfre  views  which,  in  common  with  the  other 
disciples,  he  entertained  of  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah ;  who,  as  he  thought,  was  to  declare 
himself  at  last,  with  great  pomp  and  external 
power.  It  was  a  mystery  to  him,  therefore,  how 
this  victorious  display  was  to  be  made  to  the 
small  number  of  his  disciples  alone,  and  not  to 
the  whole  admiring  world.  The  answer  of  Jesus 
was  not  then,  in  all  probability,  understood. 
The  meaning  and  substance  of  it  was,  that  he 
and  his  Father  would  manifest  themselves  to 
those  alone y  and  dwell  in  those  alone,  who  loved 
him  with  that  holy  love,  the  fruits  of  which  were 
righteousness  and  peace.  This  strong  and  beau- 
tiful declaration  of  the  spirituality  of  the  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  is  to  be  added  to  those  which  I 
have  already  noticed.  The  circumstance  is  re- 
lated by  John  in  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  his 
Gospel,  who  designates  the  apostle  as  "  Judas, 
not  Iscariot."  No  light  is  anywhere  thrown 
upon  his  character ;  and  all  that  we  know  of  his 
condition  is,  that  he  was  the  brother  of  James 
the  Less,  and  consequently  a  cousin  of  our 
Lord. 

Other  accounts   of  this  apostle  are  so  various 
and  contradictory,  that  it  would  be  wasting  time 


160  JUDE. 

to  quote  any  of  them.  It  is  not  known  with  cer- 
tainty where  he  preached,  or  where  he  died,  or 
whether  he  died  a  natural  death,  or  suffered 
martyrdom.  Most  of  the  Latin  writers  say^that 
he  travelled  into  Persia,  where  his  labors  were 
very  successful ;  but  where,  having  irritated  the 
Magi  by  reproving  them  for  their  superstitious 
practices,  he  was  put  to  a  violent  death.  Some 
of  the  Greeks  affirm  that  he  died  quietly  at  Be- 
rytus ;  and  the  Armenians  contend  that  in  their 
country  he  was  martyred.* 

There  is  a  passage  from  the  ancient  writer 
Hegesippus,  as  quoted  by  Eusebius,  from  which 
it  appears  that  Jude  was  perhaps  an  husbandman 
before  he  was  an  apostle,  and  that  he  had  de- 
scendants. The  passage  is  thus  given  by  Lard- 
ner :  — 

"  When  Domitian  made  inquiries  after  the 
posterity   of    David,   some    grandsons    of   Jude, 

*  It  is  in  vain  to  endeavor  to  learn  anything  of  this  apostle 
from  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  who,  as  is  very  evident  from 
their  contradictory  stories,  knew  nothing  abont  him.  They  gen- 
erally preferred,  however,  to  record  the  most  groundless  legend, 
rather  than  to  confess  their  ignorance.  "  The  men  themselves," 
says  Dr.  Jortin,  speaking  of  the  Fathers,  in  his  Remarks  on  Ec- 
clesiastical History,  "  usually  deserve  much  respect,  and  their 
writings  are  highly  useful  on  several  accounts ;  but  it  is  better 
to  defer  too  little  than  too  much  to  their  decisions,  and  to  the  au- 
thority of  antiquity,  that  handmaid  to  Scripture,  as  she  is  called. 
She  is  like  Briareus,  and  has  a  hundred  hands,  and  these  hands 
often  clash,  and  beat  one  another." 


JUDE.  161 

called  the  Lord's  brother,  were  brought  before 
him.  Being  asked  concerning  their  possessions 
and  substance,  they  assured  him  that  they  had 
only  so  many  acres  of  land,  out  of  the  improve- 
ment of  which  they  both  paid  him  tribute,  and 
maintained  themselves  with  their  own  hard  labor. 
The  truth  of  what  they  said  was  confirmed  by 
the  callousness  of  their  hands.  Being  asked 
concerning  Christ,  and  his  kingdom,  of  what 
kind  it  was,  and  when  it  would  appear,  they 
answered,  that  it  was  not  worldly  and  earthly, 
but  heavenly  and  angelical ;  that  it  would  be 
manifested  at  the  end  of  the  world,  when,  coming 
in  great  glory,  he  would  judge  the  living  and  the 
dead,  and  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works.  The  men  being  mean,  and  their  princi- 
ples harmless,  they  were  dismissed." 

If  the  above  passage  be  taken  in  connection 
with  another  from  the  old  but  doubtful  book  of 
the  Apostolical  Constitutions,  in  which  the  apos- 
tles are  made  to  say,  "  Some  of  us  are  fishermen., 
others  tent-makers,  others  husbandmen,"  the 
probability  that  Jude  was  a  tiller  of  the  soil  is 
strengthened.  At  any  rate,  if  the  account  of 
Hegesippus  is  to  be  relied  on,  he  was  married, 
and  had  descendants. 

One  epistle  has  been  so  generally  ascribed  to 
Judas,  or  Jude,  that  it  has  been  admitted  into 
the   canon    of    the   New   Testament.      There   is 


162  JUDE. 

hardly  another  book,  however,  in  that  canon, 
which  has  been  so  much  disputed.  And  yet 
there  is  no  solid  reason  for  rejecting  the  early 
tradition  which  gives  it  to  this  apostle.  It  was 
known  in  the  first  century,  and  there  is  no  inter- 
nal evidence  against  its  apostolic  origin.  It  was 
expressly  quoted  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who 
flourished  about  the  year  194,  and,  after  him,  by 
succeeding  Fathers.  Lardner  supposes  it  to  have 
been  written  at  some  time  between  the  years  64 
and  6Q,  that  is,  a  few  years  before  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem. 

October  28th  is  sacred,  in  the  Western  Calen- 
dar, to  the  memory  of  the  Apostle  Jude. 


SIMON    ZELOTES. 

The  next  apostle  in  order  is  another  Simon, 
who,  in  the  catalogues  of  Matthew  and  Mark,  is 
surnamed  "  the  Canaanite,"  and  in  that  of  Luke's 
Gospel,  and  the  Book  of  Acts,  "  Zelotes."     Some  \ 
have  thought  that  the  surname,  Canaanite,  de-  J 
noted  the  birthplace  of  the  apostle ;  but  others," 
with  more  probability,  suppose  that  Canaanite  is 
merely  a  Hebrew  word,  having  the  same  signifi- 
cation  with   Zelotes,   the    Greek   word   used   by 
Luke,  and  which  means  a  zealot,  or  one  who  is 
extremely   zealous.      Simon   may   have   received N 
this  appellation  on  account   of  his  having  once    \ 
belonged  to  a  sect   or   faction  among  the  Jews      I  \ 
who  were  called  Zealots,  or  only  on  account  of 
the  warmth  of  his  disposition,  or  the  ardor  with  J 
which  he  espoused  and  maintained  the  cause  of 
Jesus.* 

*  "  This  word,"  says  Cave,  "  has  no  relation  to  his  country,  or 
the  place  from  whence  he  borrowed  his  original,  as  plainly  de- 
scending from  a  Hebrew  word  which  signifies  zeal,  and  denotes  a 
hot  and  sprightly  temper.  Therefore,  what  some  of  the  Evange- 
lists call  Canaanite,  others,  rendering  the  Hebrew  by  the  Greek 
word,  style  Simon  Zelotes,  or  the  Zelot." 


164  SIMON  ZELOTES. 

It  is  probable,  though  not  certain,  that  he  is 
the  same  Simon  who  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
brethren  or  cousins  of  our  Lord.  Of  the  history 
/of  his  life  nothing  whatever  is  known ;  although 
the  later  writers  and  martyrologists  of  the  Church 
pretend,  as  usual,  to  be  intimately  acquainted 
with  it,  and  give  us  our  choice  of  a  sufficient 
number  of  contradictory  legends.  By  some  of 
them  he  is  said  to  have  labored  in  Egypt  and 
Persia,  and  to  have  been  martyred  in  the  last- 
named  country.  By  others,  he  is  made  to  pene- 
trate as  far  as  Britain,  and  there  to  be  crucified. 
"  Nor  could  the  coldness  of  the  climate  benumb 
his  zeal,"  exclaims  the  honest  Cave,  "or  hinder 
him  from  shipping  himself  and  the  Christian 
doctrine  over  to  the  western  islands,  yea,  even 
to  Britain  itself.  Here  he  preached,  and  wrought 
many  miracles,  and,  after  infinite  troubles  and 
difficulties  which  he  underwent,  suffered  martyr- 
dom for  the  faith  of  Christ,  as  is  not  only  af- 
firmed by  Nicephorus  and  Dorotheus,  but  ex- 
pressly owned  in  the  Greek  Menologies,  where  we 
are  told  that  he  went  at  last  into  Britain,  and, 
having  enlightened  the  minds  of  many  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  was  crucified  by  the  infi- 
dels, and  buried  there." 

The  two  apostles,  Simon  and  Jude,  are   com- 
memorated on  the  same  day,  October  28th. 


JUDAS    ISCARIOtT1 


The  last,  always  the  last,  on  the  lists  of  the 
apostles,  is  Judas  Iscariot.  He  is  always  brand- 
ed, too,  by  those  fearful  and  thrilling  words, 
"  who  also  betrayed  him."  And  it  is  sad  that 
we  must  close  the  roll  which  we  have  been  ex- 
amining of  this  glorious  apostolic  company  with 
the  name  of  a  traitor. 

His  surname  of  Iscariot  probably  designates 
his  birthplace  ;  as  it  signifies  "  the  man  of  Carioth 
or  Kerioth,"  which  was  a  town  in  the  tribe  of 
Judah.  But  this  is  hardly  more  than  conjecture. 
There  is  a  solemn  obscurity  hanging  over  the 
life  of  this  man,  shrouding  everything  in  silent 
and  immovable  shadow,  except  one  deed  of  gi- 
gantic enormity,  which  raises  its  high  and  desert 
head,  and  frowns  in  gloomy  solitude  over  the 
surrounding  waste  of  darkness  and  clouds.  He 
is  called  the  son  of  Simon.  Who  is  Simon  ? 
Search  the  Scriptures  for  him.  The  search  will 
be  vain.  He  is  only  known,  as  has  been  forcibly 
said,  —  only  known  by  the  misfortune  of  having 
such  a  son. 


166  JUDAS  ISCARIOT. 

The  early  dispositions  of  Judas  must  have  been 
bad,  or  he  would  not  have  proved  himself  the 
wretch  that  he  did,  so  soon  after  joining  himself 
to  such  a  Master ;  and  a  circumstance  recorded 
in  the  Gospel  of  John  plainly  intimates  to  us 
what  the  chief  vice  of  his  character  was.  "VVe 
are  informed  that  on  a  visit  which  Jesus  made 
to  Bethany,  where  Lazarus  lived,  whom  a  little 
while  before  he  had  raised  from  the  dead,  a  sup- 
per was  made  for  him  there ;  that  Lazarus,  with 
not  one  trace  of  death  on  his  countenance,  though 
but  just  now  brought  up  from  the  grave,  sat  at 
table ;  and  that  Martha,  with  her  usual  assiduity, 
served.  u  Then  took  Mary  a  pound  of  ointment 
of  spikenard,  very  costly,  and  anointed  the  feet 
of  Jesus,  and  wiped  his  feet  with  her  hair;  and 
the  house  was  filled  with  the  odor  of  the  oint- 
ment." This  offering,  though  it  may  not  have 
been  useful,  was  certainly  grateful  and  generous, 
and  was  beside  in  conformity  with  the  custom 
of  the  country,  and  deserved,  therefore,  an  ap- 
proving comment  from  the  friends  and  followers 
of  Jesus.  But  what  was  the  sequel  ?  "  Then 
saith  one  of  his  disciples,  Judas  Iscariot,  Simon's 
son,  who  was  to  betray  him,  Why  was  not  this 
ointment  sold  for  three  hundred  pence,  and  given 
to  the  poor  ?  "  From  an  honest  and  really  char- 
itable man  this  remark  would  have  been  but 
a  cold  one,  at  such   a   season  ;  but  Judas  was 


JUDAS  ISCARIOT.  167 

neither ;  and  he  said  this,  proceeds  the  histo- 
rian, "  not  that  he  cared  for  the  poor,  but  be- 
cause he  was  a  thief,  and  had  the  bag,  and  bare 
off  what  was  put  therein."*  Thus  it  appears 
that  the  root  of  all  this  traitor's  wickedness  was 
avarice,  and  that  it  had  already  borne  the  deadly 
fruits  of  fraud  and  theft.  He  had  the  bag.  He 
had  been  the  treasurer  of  the  fraternity  ;  and  so 
strong  was  his  odious  passion,  and  so  weak  was 
his  principle,  that  he  was  unable  to  resist  the 
temptation,  which  the  trust  afforded  him,  of  pur- 
loining whatever  he  could  from  the  common 
stock,  which  of  necessity  must  have  been  a  scanty 
one ;  and  on  this  occasion  he  was  grievously  dis- 
appointed that  he  could  not  have  the  handling  of 
the  large  sum  of  three  hundred  Roman  denarii, 
under  the  pretence  of  distributing  it  to  the  poor. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  that  his  peculiarities  were 
not  known  to  the  apostles  at  that  time,  but  that 
they  came  to  light  afterwards.  If  they  had  then 
been  aware  of  his  conduct,  they  would  doubtless 
have  spurned  and  avoided  him. 

Their  Master,  however,  was  acquainted  both 
with  what  he  did  and  with  what  he  was  ;  for  it 
was  on  an  occasion  previous  to  this,  that,  in  re- 
minding the  disciples  of  his  own  strong  claims 

*  In  our  English  Bible  it  is,  "  and  bare  what  was  put  therein," 
—  a  translation  which  does  not  seem  to  give  the  true  meaning  of 
the  passage,  though  the  Greek  verb  admits  of  both  senses. 


168  JUDAS  ISCARIOT. 

on  their  attachment,  he  said,  "  Have  not  I  chosen 
you  twelve  ?  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil !  "  Here, 
too,  as  we  are  informed,  "he  spake  of  Judas 
Iscariot,  the  son  of  Simon."  And  let  it  be  ob- 
served that  neither  the  apostleship  of  Judas,  nor 
his  being  the  treasurer  of  the  apostles,  were 
causes  of  his  avarice  and  treachery,  and  that 
therefore  the  knowledge  which  his  Master  pos- 
sessed of  his  unsoundness  is  no  excuse  for  it. 
If  he  had  been  a  man  of  common  goodness  only, 
the  trust  which  was  reposed  in  him  would  have 
prompted  him  to  a  worthy  exercise  of  it.  Con- 
sequently it  did  not  occasion,  it  only  was  the 
means  of  drawing  forth  and  exposing,  his  base- 
ness. Why  our  Saviour,  acquainted  as  he  was 
with  the  character  of  Judas,  permitted  him  to 
hold  the  office  of  purse-bearer,  or  why  he  ever 
called  him  to  be  an  apostle,  are  questions  of  a 
different  import.  Before  we  attempt  to  assign 
any  reason  or  motive  for  the  course  of  Jesus  in 
this  respect,  let  us  attend  for  a  moment  to  its 
consequences,  and  its  bearing  on  the  credibility 
of  his  Gospel. 

I  have  already  stated,  in  my  introductory  re- 
marks, that,  among  the  reasons  which  existed  in 
the  mind  of  our  Lord  for  calling  to  himself  a 
company  of  apostles,  one  probably  was,  that  his 
conduct  and  instructions,  being  scrutinized  by  a 
number   of  individuals,   and   continually   spread 


JUDAS   ISCARIOT.  169 

open  to  their  observation,  might  be  sufficiently 
attested  and  vindicated,  at  first  to  them,  and 
afterwards  to  the  world.  This  test  was  made 
more  perfect  by  the  introduction  of  one  among 
his  attendants  whose  heart  was  corrupt,  and  who 
would  probably  turn  to  as  bad  account  as  possible 
the  confidence  reposed  in  him.  Thus  we  see 
that  the  inquisition  to  which  the  author  of  our 
religion  was  exposed  was  a  complete  one.  The 
honest  disciples  would  have  published  anything 
which  they  might  have  seen  inconsistent  with 
rectitude ;  and  the  traitor,  the  unprincipled  dis- 
ciple, would  have  magnified  any  fault  or  miscon- 
duct in  his  Master,  if  he  could  have  found  any 
there,  as  an  excuse  for  his  treachery.  We  ought 
not  to  be  too  hasty  in  ascribing  motives  to  our 
Saviour  in  so  grave  a  concern  as  this ;  but  with 
the  facts  before  us  we  cannot  but  feel  satisfied 
that  his  character  rests  on  a  firmer  basis,  from 
having  been  thus  laid  open  to  the  search  of  a 
wicked  spy,  and  that  his  religion  derives  advan- 
tage from  the  scrutiny.  And  it  is  to  be  repeated, 
that  the  apostolic  call  did  not  make  Judas  a  thief 
and  a  traitor ;  it  found  him  one  already ;  and  if 
ever  any  man  had  the  opportunity  of  reformation 
offered  him,  it  certainly  was  he,  who  daily  heard 
the  instructions  of  Heaven,  and  beheld  the  exam-v 
pie  of  perfection.  We  may  conclude,  therefore, 
that  it  was  for  the  satisfaction  of  all  future  ages, 

8 


170  JUDAS   ISCARIOT. 

i  f  for  our  conviction  of  the  faultlessness  of  Jesus 
^Christ,  that  Judas  was  made  an  apostle. 

Commentators  and  harmonists  disagree  upon 
the  question,  whether  the  supper  at  Bethany  was 
the  same  as  that  mentioned  by  Matthew  as  hav- 
ing been  given  in  the  house  of  Simon  the  leper. 
There  are  some  circumstances  common  to  both, 
and  some  peculiar  to  each.  Macknight  is  confi- 
dent that  they  were  two  distinct  occurrences.  A 
few  of  these  arguments  I  will  here  repeat,  which 
may  lead  the  reader  to  further  investigations. 

"Although  this  supper  (John  xii.  2)  is  sup- 
posed by  many  to  have  been  the  same  with  that 
mentioned  in  Matt.  xxvi.  6,  upon  examination 
they  will  appear  to  have  been  different.  This 
happened  in  the  house  of  Lazarus ;  that,  in  the 
house  of  Simon  the  leper.  At  this,  Mary,  the 
sister  of  Lazarus,  anointed  our  Lord's  feet,  and 
wiped  them  with  her  hair  ;  at  that,  a  woman,  not 
named,  poured  the  ointment  on  his  head.  Here 
Judas  only  found  fault  with  the  action ;  there  he 
was  seconded  by  some  of  the  rest.  It  seems  all 
the  disciples  but  Judas  had  let  his  first  anointing 
pass  without  censure.  But  when  they  saw  so 
expensive  a  compliment  repeated,  and  that  within 
a  few  days  the  one  of  the  other,  they  joined  with 
him  in  blaming  the  woman,  and  might  think 
themselves  warranted  to  do  so,  as  they  knew  that 
their  Master  was  not  delighted  with  luxuries  of 


JUDAS  ISCARIOT.  1T1 

any  kind."  Again  he  says :  "  The  anointing 
after  which  Judas  bargained  with  the  priests 
happened  only  two  days  before  the  Passover,  and 
consequently  was  different  from  that  mentioned 
by  John,  which  .was  six  days  before  that  solem- 
nity." 

"Thus  it  evidently  appears,"  he  proceeds, 
"  that  our  Lord  was  anointed  with  spikenard  three 
different  times  during  the  course  of  his  ministry  ; 
once  in  the  house  of  Simon  the  Pharisee,  once 
in  the  house  of  Lazarus,  and  once  in  the  house 
of  Simon  the  leper.  That  this  honor  should 
have  been  done  him  so  often  needs  not  be  thought 
strange ;  for  in  those  countries  it  was  common 
at  entertainments  to  pour  fragrant  oils  on  the 
heads  of  such  guests  as  they  designed  to  distin- 
guish with  marks  of  extraordinary  respect.  The 
custom  is  alluded  to,  Psal.  xlv.  7,  4  God  hath 
anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy 
fellows.'  Where  this  piece  of  civility  was  showed, 
it  was  an  expression  of  the  highest  complacency, 
and  produced  great  gladness  in  the  person  who 
was  the  object  of  it." 

The  answer  of  our  Lord  to  the  covetous  remark 
of  his  disciple  is  narrated  as  follows :  "  Then 
said  Jesus,  Let  her  alone ;  against  the  day  of 
my  burial  hath  she  kept  this.  For  the  poor 
always  ye  have  with  you ;  but  me  ye  have  not 
always."     That  is,  "  Suffer  this  woman  to  per- 


172  JUDAS  ISCARIOT. 

form  her  pious  work,  and  molest  her  not.  She 
is  anointing  me  for  my  burial ;  for  I  know  that 
my  hour  is  at  hand,  and  that  the  grave  is  ready 
for  me.  Let  her  alone ;  it  is  the  last  testimony 
of  her  gratitude ;  it  is  the  last  mark  of  affection 
and  reverence  which  I  shall  receive  on  earth ; 
why  then  should  it  be  called  too  costly  ?  The 
claims  of  the  poor  are  just  and  strong ;  I,  surely, 
have  never  taught  you  to  slight  them ;  but  the 
poor  remain  with  you,  and  you  will  have  abun- 
dant opportunity  to  relieve  them ;  I  am  about  to 
depart  from  you,  and  go  to  my  Father." 

This  rebuke  was  a.  mild  and  touching  one; 
but  it  affected  not  the  stubborn  heart  of  Judas ; 
it  even  incited  him,  perhaps,  to  execute  imme- 
diately his  before-conceived  purpose  of  betraying 
his  Master  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies;  for, 
very  soon  after  it  had  been  uttered,  he  went  unto 
the  chief  priests,  and  bargained  with  them  to 
deliver  up  Jesus  into  their  power  for  thirty  pieces 
of  silver,  —  a  sum  not  more  than  about  a  third  of 
what  the  ointment  had  cost ;  and  from  that  time 
he  sought  opportunity  to  betray  him. 

The  value  of  the  ointment  was  three  hundred 
pence ;  the  wages  of  treachery  were  thirty  pieces 
of  silver.  The  pence  are  supposed  to  be  the  Ro- 
man denarii,  and  a  denarius  is  estimated  at  seven 
pence  half-penny,  English  money ;  at  which  rate 
the  whole  cost  of  the  ointment  would  be  over 


JUDAS  ISCAKIOT.  173 

nine  pounds  sterling.  The  pieces  of  silver  were 
probably  the  Jewish  shekels,  each  of  which  was 
of  a  weight  equivalent  to  about  two  shillings  and 
three  pence ;  amounting  in  all  to  between  three 
and  four  pounds.  A  different  reckoning,  how- 
ever, has  been  adopted  by  some,  as  appears  from 
the  following  passage  from  Jeremy  Taylor's  Life 
of  Christ,  which  I  quote  at  length,  as  containing 
other  opinions  on  this  subject.  It  will  be  per- 
ceived that  the  bishop  takes  it  for  granted  that 
Mary  Magdalen  was  the  woman  who  anointed 
our  Lord. 

"  It  is  not  intimated,  in  this  history  of  the  life 
of  Jesus,  that  Judas  had  any  malice  against  the 
person  of  Christ ;  for  when  afterward  he  saw  the 
matter  was  to  end  in  the  death  of  his  Lord,  he 
repented ;  but  a  base  and  unworthy  spirit  of 
covetousness  possessed  him ;  and  the  relics  of 
indignation  for  missing  the  price  of  the  ointment 
which  the  holy  Magdalen  had  poured  upon  his 
feet  burnt  in  his  bowels  with  a  secret,  dark, 
melancholic  fire,  and  made  an  eruption  into  an 
act  which  all  the  ages  of  the  world  could  never 
parallel.  They  appointed  him  for  hire  thirty 
pieces ;  and  some  say  that  every  piece  did  in 
value  equal  ten  ordinary  current  deniers ;  and  so 
Judas  was  satisfied  by  receiving  the  worth  of  the 
three  hundred  pence  at  which  he  valued  the 
nard   pistic.     But  hereafter  let  no  Christian  be 


174  JUDAS   ISCARIOT. 

ashamed  to  be  despised  and  undervalued  ;  for  he 
will  hardly  meet  so  great  a  reproach  as  to  have 
so  disproportioned  a  price  set  upon  his  life  as  was 
upon  the  holy  Jesus.  St.  Mary  Magdalen  thought 
it  not  good  enough  to  aneal  his  sacred  feet ;  Ju- 
das thought  it  a  sufficient  price  for  his  head ;  for 
covetousness  aims  at  base  and  low  purchases, 
whilst  holy  love  is  great  and  comprehensive  as 
the  bosom  of  Heaven,  and  aims  at  nothing  that 
is  less  than  infinite." 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  surprise  with  many 
commentators,  that  so  small  a  bribe  should  have 
tempted  Judas  to  commit  so  great  a  crime ;  and 
it  does  seem  as  if  some  other  motive  must  have 
co-operated  with  the  love  of  money,  in  bringing 
his  mind  to  its  dreadful  determination.  Among 
the  solutions  which  have  been  proposed  of  this 
apparent  enigma  is  the  one  which  supposes  that 
Judas  was  impatient  of  the  delay  of  his  Master 
to  assume  the  state  and  magnificence  of  his  Mes- 
siahship,  and  that  his  intention  was  to  compel 
him  to  do  so,  by  bringing  him  into  such  imminent 
peril,  that  he  would  be  obliged  to  call  his  follow- 
ers round  him,  work  some  signal  miracle  to  free 
himself,  and  then  mount  the  throne  of  David  and 
of  Israel.  In  this  event,  he  of  course  calculated 
that  he  should  come  in  for  his  share  of  those 
offices  and  rewards  which  he  had  been  long 
pining  for,  and  pining  for  in  vain.     Here,  also, 


JUDAS   ISCARIOT.  175 

avarice  is  the  governing  motive ;  only  on  a  much 
larger  scale  than  in  the  action  as  it  is  simply 
narrated  in  the  Scriptures. 

There  is  something  to  say  in  favor  of  this  ex- 
planation, and  something  too  may  be  said  against 
it.  It  is  safest  and  easiest  to  take  the  bare  Gospel 
statement,  which  merely  informs  us,  that,  for  the 
consideration  of  thirty  shekels  of  silver,  Judas 
covenanted  to  betray  his  Master.  No  motive  is 
expressly  assigned  for  the  act ;  but  as  he  is  rep- 
resented as  selfish  and  avaricious,  we  must  pre- 
sume that  selfishness  and  avarice  moved  him  to 
this  last  and  most  awful  crime.  With  regard 
to  the  price  of  his  treachery,  a  survey  of  human 
nature  and  human  passions  will  not  authorize  us 
to  say  that  any  sum  is  too  small  to  tempt  habitual 
and  absorbing  avarice  to  any  act  or  degree  of 
wickedness.  Earthly,  sensual,  and  contemptible, 
there  is  no  knowing  how  low  this  passion  will 
creep,  nor  how  high  it  will  strike ;  how  meanly 
it  may  dig  for  its  dirty  food,  nor  how  daringly  it 
may  direct  its  poison. 

Having  concluded  his  bargain  with  the  priests, 
and,  as  he  thought,  secretly,  Judas  resumed  his 
place  among  the  twelve,  and  the  next  that  we 
hear  of  him  is  at  the  last  supper.*     As  they  were 

*  That  is,  the  supper  of  the  Passover.  It  has  been  disputed, 
whether  Judas  was  or  was  not  present  when  Jesus  instituted  his 
own  supper,  at  the  time  of  this  feast ;  and  it  is  a  difficult  point  to 


176  JUDAS  ISCARIOT. 

eating,  Jesus  said,  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  that 
one  of  you  shall  betray  me."  At  this  intimation, 
the  disciples,  innocent  as  they  all  but  one  felt 
themselves  to  be,  were  exceedingly  distressed, 
and  they  began  each  one  to  say  unto  him,  "  Lord, 
is  it  I  ?  "  Jesus,  who  had  just  before  discovered 
the  traitor,  by  a  sign,  to  Simon  Peter  and  John, 
answered,  and  said,  "  He  that  dippeth  his  hand 
with  me  in  the  dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me. 
The  Son  of  Man  goeth,  as  it  is  written  of  him ; 
but  woe  unto  that  man  by  whom  the  Son  of  Man 
is  betrayed !  it  had  been  good  for  that  man  if  he 
had  not  been  born."  Judas,  who,  in  all  proba- 
bility, saw  that  his  Master's  hand  and  his  own 
were  together  in  the  dish,  and  that  he  was  con- 
sequently accused  of  the  treason,  but  still,  per- 
haps, relying  on  the  secrecy  with  which  he  had 
made  his  bargain,  thought  that  he  now  was 
obliged  to  say  something;  and  pretending  the 
same  innocence  as  the  rest,  he  asked  the  same 
question,  "  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  "  And  Jesus,  using  no 
more  signs,  but  directly  accusing  the  miserable 
culprit,  answered,  "  Thou  hast  said."  He  then 
added,  "That  which  thou  doest,  do  quickly." 
Judas,  finding  that  no  disguise  or  equivocation 
would   now   serve   him,   went   immediately   out. 

determine.  "  However  it  was,"  observes  the  author  from  whom 
I  quoted  last,  "  Christ,  who  was  Lord  of  the  sacraments,  might 
dispense  it  as  he  pleased." 


JUDAS  ISCARIOT.  177 

"  And  it  was  night,' r  adds  the  historian.  Night, 
indeed !  How  dark,  how  sad,  how  portentous ! 
There  never  was  another  such  since  the  world 
first  woke  from  chaos.  We  seem  to  see  it  fall 
and  settle  like  an  outstretched  pall,  and  embrace 
the  whole  of  that  devoted  region  with  its  mourn- 
ing folds.  Under  its  covering  the  wretched 
apostate  —  apostle  no  longer — stole  forth  to  exe- 
cute his  purpose.  What  a  night  there  must  have 
been  in  his  bosom  and  in  his  mind  !  And  what  a 
night,  of  doubt  and  fear  and  mournfulness,  did  he 
leave  in  the  hearts  of  the  eleven,  who  now  lis- 
tened sadly  to  their  Master,  as  he  pursued  his 
melting,  though  calm,  sustained,  and  heavenly 
discourse,  and  gave  them  his  farewell  exhorta- 
tions and  his  farewell  blessing! 

It  was  yet  night  when  the  small  company, 
now  made  smaller  by  desertion,  having  finished 
their  supper  and  sung  a  hymn  together,  went 
out,  as  was  the  frequent  custom  of  Jesus,  to  the 
Mount  of  Olives.  Here  he  suffered  his  dreadful 
agony ;  and  here  Judas  soon  appeared,  with  an 
armed  band,  which  he  had  received  from  the 
priests  and  Pharisees  ;  for  he  knew  that  he  should 
probably  find  his  Master  in  this  place  of  his  usual 
resort.  In  order  that  his  attendants  might  be 
sure  of  their  victim,  in  this  season  of  confusion 
and  darkness,  the  traitor  gave  them  a  sign,  telling 
them  that  whomsoever  he  should  kiss,  the  same 

8*  L 


178  JUDAS  ISCARIOT. 

was  he.  Then  going  up  to  Jesus,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  friend,  and  intended  to  offer  the  common 
salutation  of  friendship  and  intimacy,  he  said, 
"Hail,  Master!"  and  kissed  him.  Reproach- 
fully Jesus  said  unto  him,  "  Judas,  betrayest 
thou  the  Son  of  Man  with  a  kiss  ?  "  "  Is  it  with 
a  hypocritical  kiss  of  affection  and  peace  that 
you  perform  this  deed  of  atrocious  ingratitude  ?  " 
Then  Jesus  said  unto  the  chief  priests,  and  cap- 
tains of  the  temple,  and  the  elders,  who  were 
come  to  him,  "Be  ye  come  out,  as  against  a 
thief,  with  swords  and  staves  !  When  I  was  daily 
with  you  in  the  temple,  ye  stretched  forth  no 
hands  against  me ;  but  this  is  your  hour,  and  the 
power  of  darkness."  Then  they  took  him,  and 
brought  him  to  the  high-priest's  house. 

And  now  that  Judas  has  accomplished  his  de- 
sign, is  he  gratified  ?  At  first  perhaps  he  was. 
But  it  was  a  momentary  satisfaction.  Reflection 
succeeded  passion,  and  grief  and  remorse  fol- 
lowed hard  upon  the  footsteps  of  reflection.  He 
could  think  now ;  and  he  could  feel.  He  could 
think  how  good  his  Master  had  always  been  to 
him  ;  how  perfectly  free  from  guilt  or  stain,  and 
yet  how  condescending  and  pitiful  to  human 
error.  He  felt  the  baseness  of  his  own  conduct ; 
he  was  appalled  at  the  sight  of  his  own  enormous 
ingratitude ;  he  began  to  hate  himself,  and  to 
fear  the  light  of  morning,  and  to  dread  the  as- 


JUDAS  ISCARIOT.  179 

pect  of  that  mild  face,  which,  however  mildly  it 
might  regard  him,  could  speak  nothing  to  his 
heart  but  judgment  and  agony.  Morning  came. 
The  relentless  and  exulting  enemies  of  Jesus 
met  to  adopt  measures  for  securing  their  prey. 
As  the  fate  of  his  Master  approached  nearer  to 
its  bloody  catastrophe,  the  anguish  of  Judas  be- 
came more  intense,  and  his  crime  showed  itself 
in  all  its  horrors.  Perhaps  he  did  not  apprehend 
that  the  priests  would  have  pushed  their  malignity 
to  the  extreme  of  death.  At  any  rate,  his  own 
malice  and  cupidity  were  wholly  terrified  away, 
and  he  resolved  to  make  one  wild  effort  to  save 
the  victim.  He  rushed  to  the  conclave,  with  the 
now  hateful  silver  grasped  convulsively  in  his 
hand,  and,  reaching  it  out  to  his  employers,  he 
exclaimed,  "  I  have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  be- 
trayed innocent  blood. "  Deluded  man !  Innocent 
or  guilty,  it  was  the  same  to  them,  so  long  as  they 
could  shed  it.  "  And  they  said,  What  is  that  to 
us  ?  See  thou  to  that !  "  Stung  to  the  quick  by 
this  cold  and  insulting  reply,  and  feeling  himself 
cast  away  like  a  tool  which  has  been  broken  in 
the  using,  and  having  now  no  refuge  from  the 
fiends  that  were  pursuing  him,  existence  became 
a  burden  too  heavy  for  him  to  bear;  and  he 
threw  the  pieces  of  silver  on  the  pavement  of  the 
temple,  "  and  departed,  and  went  and  hanged 
himself." 


180  JUDAS   ISCAKIOT. 

I  know  not  bow  others  may  feel  on  perusing 
the  history  of  this  wretched  man,  but  for  my  own 
part,  I  confess  that  my  indignation  is  plentifully 
mingled  with  pity.  How  dark  was  the  close 
of  his  short  career !  How  terrible  was  the  pun- 
ishment of  his  guilt,  —  death  by  his  own  hands! 
The  price  of  blood  lies  scattered  at  the  feet  of 
the  priests  ;  the  betrayer  has  come  to  his  end, 
even  before  the  betrayed  ;  his  apostleship  is  end- 
ed ;  no  softened  multitude  will  listen  to  the  tidings 
of  salvation  from  his  lips ;  no  converts  to  a  pure 
and  purifying  faith  will  bow  to  receive  the  waters 
of  baptism  from  his  hands ;  no  countries  will 
contend  for  the  honor  of  his  grave ;  no  churches 
will  call  themselves  by  his  name  ;  no  careful  dis- 
ciples compose  his  limbs ;  no  enthusiastic  devo- 
tees gather  up  his  bones ;  his  dust  is  scattered 
to  the  winds ;  his  name  is  only  preserved  by  its 
eternal  ignominy.  He  was  a  martyr,  —  the  first 
martyr,  —  but  it  was  to  avarice.  He  has  had  his 
followers  too ;  but  they  have  been  only  those, 
who,  as  wicked  and  as  wretched  as  himself, 
have,  from  that  day  to  this,  and  in  the  countless 
forms  of  selfishness,  sold,  for  a  few  pieces  of  sil- 
ver, their  consciences,  their  Saviour,  and  their 
souls.* 

*  In  the  life  of  Thomas  Firmin,  that  wealthy  and  eminently 
liberal  and  pious  citizen  and  merchant  of  London  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  a  curious  legend  is  related  from  memory,  respect- 


JUDAS  ISCARIOT.  181 

By  an  observable  coincidence,  it  so  happened 
that  the  money  which  Judas  had  received  and 

ing  the  punishment  of  Judas  in  another  state,  which  shows  how 
the  feelings  of  men  relent,  even  towards  the  greatest  transgressors. 
The  legend  is  cited  by  the  author,  to  illustrate  the  value  of  char- 
itable deeds.  As,  notwithstanding  its  wildness,  it  is  conceived 
and  told  in  a  truly  poetical  manner,  and  has,  if  I  may  judge,  a 
favorable  influence  on  the  affections,  I  shall  offer  no  apology  for 
repeating  it. 

"  I  have  read  somewhere  (but  so  long  since,  that  I  forget  the 
author's  name,  and  the  subject  of  his  book)  that  the  punishment 
of  Judas,  who  betrayed  our  Saviour,  is,  that  he  stands  on  the 
surface  of  a  swelling,  dreadful  sea,  with  his  feet  somewhat  below 
the  water,  as  if  he  were  about  to  sink.  The  writer  saith,  besides 
his  continual  horror  and  fear  of  going  to  the  bottom,  a  most  ter- 
rible tempest  of  hail  and  wind  always  beats  on  the  traitor's  naked 
body  and  head ;  he  suffers  as  much  by  cold,  and  the  smart  of  the 
impetuous  hail,  as  it  is  possible  to  imagine  he  could  suffer  by  the 
fire  of  purgatory,  or  of  hell.  But,  saith  my  author  further,  in 
this  so  great  distress  Judas  has  one  great  comfort  and  relief;  for, 
whereas  the  tempest  would  be  insupportable  if  it  beat  always 
upon  him  from  all  sides,  at  a  little  distance  from  him  and  some- 
what above  him  there  is  stretched  out  a  sheet  of  strong,  coarse 
linen  cloth ;  which  sheet  intercepts  a  great  part  of  the  tempest. 
Judas  regales  himself  by  turning  sometimes  one  side,  sometimes 
another  side,  of  his  head  and  body  to  the  shelter  of  this  sheet.  In 
short,  the  sheet  is  such  a  protection  to  him,  that  it  defends  him 
from  the  one  half  of  his  punishment.  But  by  what  meritorious 
action  or  actions  did  Judas  deserve  so  great  a  favor  ?  Our  au- 
thor answers,  he  gave  just  the  same  quantity  of  linen  cloth  to  a 
certain  poor  family  for  shirting.  It  had  been  impossible  that  this 
gentleman  should  hit  on  such  a  conceit  as  this,  but  from  our  nat- 
ural opinion  of  the  value  and  merit  of  charity ;  it  seems  to  us  a 
virtue  so  excellent,  that  it  may  exclude  even  Judas  from  some 
part  of  his  punishment.  I  can  hardly  afford  to  ask  the  reader's 
pardon  for  this  tale ;  I  incline  to  think,  that  divers  others  may  be 


182  JUDAS   ISCARIOT. 

returned  became  desecrated  by  his  touch.  There 
was  a  Jewish  law  which  forbade  that  the  price 
of  blood  should  be  put  into  the  treasury.  The 
priests,  therefore,  though  they  gathered  up  the 
pieces  which  the  traitor  had  thrown  down  before 
them,  were  unable  to  appropriate  them  to  the 
uses  of  the  temple,  and,  after  consulting  together, 
agreed  to  purchase  with  them  a  field  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Jerusalem,  called  the  Potter's  Field,  to 
bury  strangers  in.  The  piece  of  ground  thus 
purchased  acquired  the  significant  and  fearful 
name  of  The  Field  of  Blood. 

When  the  tragedy  of  the  crucifixion  was  over, 
and  the  eleven,  comforted  and  reassured  by  the 
appearance  of  their  risen  Lord,  had  assembled 
together  in  Jerusalem,  with  the  other  disciples, 
to  the  number  of  about  an  hundred  and  twenty, 
Peter  proposed  to  the  company  that  a  disciple 
should  be  chosen  by  lot  to  take  "the  ministry  and 
apostleship,  from  which  Judas,  by  transgression, 
fell."  In  the  address  which  he  made  on  this 
occasion,  he  gives  an  account  of  the  death  of 
Judas,  which  differs  somewhat  from  the  rela- 
tion of  Matthew.  "  Now  this  man,"  he  says, 
"  purchased  a  field  with  the  reward  of  iniquity ; 
and,  falling  headlong,  he  burst   asunder  in  the 

as  well  pleased  with  the  wit  of  it,  and  the  moral  implied  in  it,  as 
I  have  been,  who  remember  it  above  forty  years'  reading,  without 
remembering  either  the  author  or  argument  of  the  book." 


JUDAS  ISCARIOT.  183 

midst,  and  all  his  bowels  gushed  out."  Several 
explanations  have  been  given  to  reconcile  this 
discrepancy,  either  of  which  is  sufficiently  proba- 
ble to  answer  the  purpose.  The  most  common 
one  is,  that  Judas  hung  himself,  as  Matthew 
relates,  and  afterwards,  by  some  accident,  fell 
from  the  place  where  he  was  suspended,  and  was 
mangled  in  the  shocking  manner  described  by 
Peter. 

According  to  the  apostle's  recommendation, 
his  brethren  proceeded  to  fill  the  traitor's  for- 
feited place ;  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias,  who 
had  long  been  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  and  is  conjec- 
tured to  have  been  one  of  the  seventy.  Thus 
was  the  miserable  Judas,  the  apostate,  the  suicide, 
rejected  from  the  apostolic  company,  even  after 
his  death,  and  his  name  and  his  memory  blotted 
out,  as  entirely  as  was  possible,  from  the  records 
of  the  faithful.  With  the  passages  of  the  Scripture 
which  were  applied  on  this  occasion  by  Peter, 
we  will  conclude  his  mournful  biography.  "  For 
it  is  written  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  Let  his  habi- 
tation be  desolate,  and  let  no  man  dwell  therein ; 
and,  His  bishopric  let  another  take." 


MATTHIAS. 

For  all  the  holy  and  spiritual  purposes  of 
apostleship,  and  for  all  the  purposes  of  honorable 
remembrance  in  the  Christian  Church,  the  place 
of  Judas  Iscariot  is  vacated,  as  we  have  seen, 
and  must  be  supplied  by  another,  in  order  that 
the  apostolic  number  may  be  complete.  The 
name  of  Matthias  must  be  joined  to  the  foregoing 
list,  though  his  name  is  not  once  mentioned  in 
the  Gospels.  We  shall  then  have  thirteen  names, 
but  only  twelve  apostles  still ;  twelve  authorized 
founders  of  the  Christian  Church ;  twelve  com- 
missioned teachers  of  Christianity  to  the  world ; 
twelve  judges  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

The  early  determination  of  the  eleven  apostles 
to  fill  the  spiritual  throne  from  which  Judas  had 
fallen  is  proof  of  one  or  two  interesting  points. 
It  proves,  that,  having  recovered  from  their  tem- 
porary panic,  they  were  fully  resolved  to  set  about 
the  work  of  their  Master,  and  had  no  other  idea 
but  that  of  proclaiming  his  name,  and  planting 
his  religion,  according  to  his  behest,  and  with 
the  holy  certainty  of  Divine  assistance  and  pro- 


MATTHIAS.  185 

tection,  and  of  final  success.  It  proves  that 
their  zeal  and  confidence  were  not  confined  within 
the  limits  of  their  own  number,  but  were  shared 
by  many  others,  who  stood  ready  to  fill  the  vacant 
post  of  honor  and  danger,  and  to  join  in  the  cares 
and  perils  of  the  new  and  marvellous  enterprise. 
It  proves,  moreover,  the  regard  of  the  apostles 
for  the  integrity  of  the  original  number  of  their 
company ;  the  number  which  the  appointment  of 
their  Master  had  established  and  sanctified ;  the 
patriarchal  number  of  twelve.  Though  two  indi- 
viduals were  judged  worthy  of  the  forfeited  sta- 
tion, only  one  could  be  received  to  it. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  candidates  for  the 
apostleship  should  be  personally  acquainted  with 
the  main  events  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  in  order 
that  they  might  bear  direct  witness  thereto. 
"  Wherefore  of  these  men,"  said  Peter,  in  the 
assembly  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  disciples, 
"  who  have  companied  with  us  all  the  time  that 
the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among  us,  be- 
ginning from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  that  same 
day  that  he  was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be 
ordained  to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrec- 
tion." From  this  whole  number,  including  very 
likely  the  seventy  who  are  mentioned  in  the  Gos- 
pels, two  were  selected  as  candidates,  —  "Joseph 
called  Barnabas,  whose  surname  was  Justus,  and 
Matthias "  ;    and   after   prayer  to    God   for  the 


186  MATTHIAS. 

disposal  of  the  lots,  they  were  cast,  "  and  the  lot 
fell  upon  Matthias  ;  and  he  was  numbered  with 
the  eleven  apostles." 

All  that  we  know  of  the  apostle  who  thus 
closed  up  and  made  whole  the  sacred-  ring  which 
had  been  so  violently  broken  is  related  in  the 
above  account.  We  may  say  of  Matthias,  that 
he  was  one  of  those  who  had  been  interested 
from  the  beginning  in  the  person  and  claims  of 
Jesus,  and  had  travelled  from  place  to  place  with 
him  and  with  his  first  twelve  apostles,  hearing 
his  instructions,  beholding  his  miracles,  witness- 
ing his  holy  life  during  his  ministry  on  earth,  and 
convinced  by  ocular  demonstration  of  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead.  We  may  also  be  permit- 
ted to  infer,  from  the  selection  which  was  made, 
of  him,  that  he  was  distinguished  among  the  com- 
panions of  the  apostles  and  followers  of  Jesus  for 
his  mental  and  moral  qualities,  for  his  wisdom 
and  his  virtue. 

Ecclesiastical  history  furnishes  us  with  but 
poor  and  uncertain  minutes  of  the  apostolical 
labors  of  Matthias.  An  author  of  no  great 
credit  or  antiquity  asserts,  "that  he  preached 
the  Gospel  in  Macedonia;  where  the  Gentiles, 
to  make  an  experiment  of  his  faith  and  integ- 
rity, gave  him  a  poisonous  and  intoxicating  po- 
tion, which  he  cheerfully  drank  off,  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  without   the   least  prejudice   to   him- 


MATTHIAS.  187 

self;  and,  that  when  the  same  potion  had  de- 
prived about  two  imndred  and  fifty  of  their 
sight,  he,  laying  his  hands  upon  them,  restored 
them  to  their  sight,  —  with  a  great  deal  more 
of  the  same  stamp,"  says  Cave,  "  which  I  have 
neither  faith  enough  to  believe,  nor  leisure 
enough  to  relate."  Cave  goes  on  to  observe, 
that  the  more  probable  account  of  the  apostle 
is,  that  from  Judaea,  where  he  first  labored,  he 
travelled  eastward  and  preached  in  Cappadocia, 
where  he  at  last  received  the  crown  of  martyrdom 
on  the  cross. 

Even  the  probability  of  this  latter  account  is, 
however,  but  slight.  Let  it  suffice,  that  he  was 
a  follower  of  our  Lord  from  the  first ;  that  he 
was  a  companion  of  the  apostles  before  he  was 
chosen  to  be  one  of  them ;  that  he  was  considered 
worthy  to  be  joined  to  their  band ;  and  that  he 
must  have  labored  for  Christ  and  the  Church  in  a 
manner  conformable  to  the  trust  which  was  re- 
posed in  him,  and  the  station  which  he  was  divine- 
ly allotted  to  fill. 

The  Greeks  commemorate  Matthias  on  the  9th 
of  August,  but  the  Western  Churches  on  the  24th 
of  February. 


CONCLUDING    KEMARKS. 

The  lives  and  characters  of  the  twelve  apostles 
of  Christ  have  now  been  separately  considered ; 
but  there  are  some  general  reflections  upon  them, 
regarded  collectively,  which  naturally  suggested 
themselves  during  the  course  that  we  have  been 
through,  and  which  may  not  prove  uninteresting 
or  uninstructive  to  those  who  have  accompanied 
me  in  the  way. 

We  find,  with  respect  to  the  circumstances  of 
their  external  condition,  —  their  country,  their 
fortunes,  their  education,  —  that  they  were  such 
as  most  readily  presented  themselves  to  the  search 
of  Jesus,  and  yet  not  such,  by  any  means,  as  we 
should  suppose  would  have  been  effective  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  designs. 

In  the  first  place,  the  apostles  were  all  Gali- 
leans ,  —  natives  or  inhabitants  of  the  district  of 
Galilee.  Seven  of  them,  Peter  and  Andrew, 
James  and  John,  Philip,  Bartholomew,  and  Mat- 
thew, are  expressly  stated  in  the  Gospels  to  have 
belonged  to  the  district  of  Galilee.  The  same  is 
in  the  highest  degree  probable  of  all  the  rest, 


CONCLUDING   REMARKS.  189 

with  the  exception,  perhaps",  of  Judas  Iscariot. 
We  find  that  the  eleven,  after  Jesus  had  .ascended 
into  heaven  before  their  sight,  were  thus  spoken 
to  by  the  two  angels :  "  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why- 
stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven?"  And  at  the 
day  of  Pentecost,  when  they  received  the  gift  of 
tongues,  the  people  who  were  present  exclaimed, 
"Behold,  are  not  all  these  who  speak  Galileans?" 
Indeed,  so  many  of  the  first  disciples  of  Christ 
were  from  Galilee,  that  they  were  all  called  Gali- 
leans at  first,  as  we  learn  from  contemporary  his- 
torians. 

This  country  constituted  the  northern  portion 
of  Palestine ;  and  its  people,  though  hardy  and 
brave,  were  not  much  respected  by  the  Jews  of 
Jerusalem,  who  regarded  them  as  illiterate  and 
unpolished,  and  unworthy  of  producing  a  prophet. 
The  Pharisees,  reproving  Nicodemus  for  the  in- 
terest which  he  expressed  in  Jesus,  said  to  him : 
"  Art  thou  also  of  Galilee  ?  Search,  and  look  ; 
for  out  of  Galilee  ariseth  no  prophet."  The  very 
speech  of  the  Galileans  was  a  provincial  dialect, 
and  betrayed  their  remoteness  from  the  capital ; 
as  we  have  seen  was  the  case  with  Peter  in  the 
palace  of  Caiaphas.  In  short  they  were  looked 
down  upon  by  the  more  cultivated,  and,  if  I  may 
use  the  epithet,  Attic  part  of  the  nation,  as  a 
rude,  unenlightened,  Boeotian  branch  of  the  com- 
mon Jewish  family.     Jesus,  though  born  in  Beth- 


190  CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

lehem,  was  brought  up  in  Nazareth,  which  was 
the  most  despised  town  in  this  most  despised 
province  ;  and  therefore,  in  selecting  Galileans  to 
be  his  apostles,  he  selected  those  who  were  near- 
est to  him,  and  with  whom  he  was  most  familiar. 
And  yet  what  materials  were  they  for  construct- 
ing and  building  up  a  new  religion,  which  was 
to  be  the  wonder,  the  beauty  and  glory,  of  the 
earth !  How  little  adapted  they  seem  to  be  for 
their  lofty  destination !  They  are  the  last  men, 
these  poor  Galileans,  the  very  last  men,  as  we 
should  suppose,  to  confound  the  learned,  to  resist 
the  mighty,  to  convert  the  world.  They  do  not 
seem  to  be  made  for  such  a  work.  There  is  no 
fitness  in  them  to  be  instructors  and  reformers. 
Their  very  birthplace  forbids  it.  The  choice  of 
them,  therefore,  to  be  the  intimate  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  the  founders  of  a  new  religious  sys- 
tem, appears  to  me  to  be  a  mark  of  the  Divine 
mission  of  Christ,  and  the  Divine  character  and 
origin  of  Christianity.  To  my  ear  the  language 
of  it  is  this:  The  person  who,  undertaking  to 
introduce  a  peculiar  and  original  faith  to  the 
world,  selected,  or,  as  it  would  rather  appear, 
took  almost  carelessly  up,  his  associates  and 
confidential  coadjutors,  from  his  own  neighbor- 
hood, from  his  own  kindred,  from  the  shores 
of  a  lake,  from  the  streets  of  a  village,  from  be- 
fore his  own  door-stone,  instead  of  seeking  out 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  191 

the  learned  and  the  powerful  from  among  the 
Pharisees  and  chief  men  of  the  nation,  must  have 
set  out  in  his  work  with  the  assurance  that  there 
was  a  Power  and  a  Wisdom  above,  which  could 
and  would  supply  every  deficiency  among  his 
followers ;  and  the  event  proved  that  the  defi- 
ciency was  supplied  from  a  Divine,  all-sufficient, 
and  only  sufficient  Source. 

These  Galileans  were  also  poor.  Four  of  them 
were  certainly  fishermen ;  and  others  of  their 
number  were  probably  of  the  same  profession. 
One  was  a  publican,  and  of  the  inferior  order  of 
publicans.*  They  not  only  belonged  to  an  un- 
dervalued province,  but  they  were  destitute  of 
one  of  those  means  by  which  great  ends  are 
usually  produced  in  the  world.  They  were  not, 
indeed,  wretchedly  destitute.  They  were  above 
actual  want,  though  they  worked  for  their  living ; 
and  their  dwellings,  though  humble,  appear  to 
have  been  comfortable.  But  they  were  far  from 
being  rich ;   far  from  possessing  any  of  that  in- 

*  It  is  a  habit  among  many  of  the  Fathers  and  other  writers 
on  these  subjects,  to  assert  that  Matthew  was  rich,  in  order  to 
magnify  the  sacrifice  which  he  made  in  leaving  all  to  -follow 
Jesus.  But  there  is  not  the  least  ground  in  Scripture  for  sup- 
posing that  he  formed  an  exception  to  the  general  poverty,  or  at 
any  rate  very  moderate  circumstances,  of  the  other  apostles.  He 
was  able,  to  be  sure,  to  give  a  supper,  at  which  some  Pharisees 
were  present,  who  were  not  likely  to  honor  with  their  presence 
the  house  of  a  poor  man;  but  he  might  have  done  this  and  yet 
not  have  been  very  rich. 


192  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

fluence  and  consequence  which  wealth  so  univer- 
sally commands.  And  yet,  without  wealth,  they 
effected  what  no  wealth  could  have  brought  to 
pass,  and  became  of  more  consequence  than  ever 
invests  princes. 

Besides  these  disadvantages,  they  were  also  un- 
learned. I  do  not  mean  that  they  were  rudely 
ignorant,  or  that  they  were  unacquainted  with 
the  sacred  literature  of  their  nation ;  but  they 
were  neither  deeply  versed  in  lore  nor  elegantly 
accomplished.  They  could  not  take  a  place 
among  the  well-educated  portion  of  their  coun- 
trymen. Their  manner  of  expressing  themselves 
at  once  betrayed  this  kind  and  degree  of  igno- 
rance to  those  who  were  more  polished  and  better 
instructed.  Thus  the  council  of  elders  and  rulers 
before  which  Peter  and  John  were  arraigned 
perceived  that  those  apostles  were  "  unlearned 
and  ignorant  men."  And  yet  they  were  not  so 
unlearned  and  ignorant  that  they  did  not,  both 
of  them,  give  to  the  Church  and  to  the  world 
writings  in  the  Greek  language,  which,  though 
not  exactly  classical,  were  by  no  means  despica- 
ble, even  in  their  style.  But  their  speech,  pro- 
vincial and  uncultivated  as  it  was,  sent  conviction 
to  the  hearts  of  multitudes;  and  their  writings, 
simple  and  unpolished  as  they  were,  threw  a  new 
and  heavenly  radiance  over  that  dark  world,  have 
instructed  ages  and  generations,  and  impart  more 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  193 

real  knowledge  on  the  highest  objects  of  thought 
than  the  greatest  philosophers  of  antiquity  had 
ever  been  able  to  impart.  To  my  mind  this  is  a 
remarkable  fact,  and  one  which  does  not  easily 
admit  of  but  one  explanation. 

We  may  sum  up  the  circumstances  of  the  ex- 
ternal condition  of  the  apostles,  by  saying,  that 
they  were  what  would  now  be  called  plain,  sub- 
stantial men,  in  the  lower  walks  of  life.  They 
were  in  a  situation,  not  exceedingly  depressed, 
and  yet  more  remarkable  for  its  humility  than 
otherwise.  Their  education  was  only  such  a  one 
as  was  usually  bestowed  on  the  common  people 
of  their  nation,  and  in  all  probability  consisted 
chiefly  in  a  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament,  which  Scriptures  they  interpreted 
according  to  the  instructions  of  the  Rabbis,  and 
the  general  expectations,  opinions,  and  prejudices 
of  their  countrymen. 

With  regard  to  their  natural  dispositions,  tal- 
ents, and  endowments  of  mind,  there  was  among 
them  the  same  assortment  and  variety  of  genius 
and  character  as  would  generally  be  found  in  the 
same  number  of  men  called  together  in  a  similar 
manner.  Peter  was  irascible,  impetuous,  fervent, 
generous.  John  was  amiable,  affectionate,  stead- 
fast. Thomas  was  honest  and  scrutinizing. 
Matthew  was  modest  and  sensible.  James  the 
Greater  was  active  and  aspiring.     James  the  Less 


194  CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

was  dignified  in  his  sentiments  and  deportment. 
Some  were  forward,  and  some  were  retired. 
Some  were  eloquent,  and  others  were  silent. 
All  but  one  appear  to  have  been  virtuous ;  and 
even  that  one  was  not  without  his  use.  They 
all,  with  that  single  exception,  combined  harmo- 
niously in  attachment  to  their  Master  and  devo- 
tion to  his  cause.  We  may  see  in  this  fact,  that 
Christianity  was  adapted  to  different  dispositions, 
and  received  by  different  minds ;  that  it  was  not 
merely  the  enthusiastic  who  accepted  and  sup- 
ported it ;  that  it  was  judged  by  different  tests ; 
that  it  was  regarded  through  various  optics  ;  that 
zeal  embraced  it;  that  cool  sense  approved  it; 
that  candor  and  honesty  were  convinced  by  it; 
that  even  disappointed  avarice  could  report  noth- 
ing against  it.  We  see  too  in  this  fact  an  in- 
stance of  the  truth,  which  is  at  once  so  obvious 
and  so  little  regarded,  that  a  variety  of  genius  and 
disposition  is  in  accordance  with  the  designs  of 
Providence  in  its  most  important  operations  with 
human  instruments,  as  well  as  in  the  daily  and 
social  business  of  the  world ;  and  that  a  character 
is  by  no  means  to  be  despised  because  its  qualities 
are  not  shining  and  striking.  There  are  different 
/a  parts  to  be  performed,  requiring  different  powers 
and  capacities ; '  and  he  who  achieves  his  part, 
though  it  be  a  silent  and  undistinguished  one,  is 
a  good  servant. 


CONCLUDING   REMARKS.  195 

We  are  told  much,  in  the  writings  of  the  New 
Testament,  of  the  words  and  actions  of  Simon 
Peter ;  but  little  or  nothing  of  those  of  Simon 
Zelotes  and  Bartholomew ;  and  yet  these  latter 
may  have  accomplished  tasks  which  were  neces- 
sary to  the  progress  of  the  great  work,  but  which 
would  not  have  suited  the  peculiar  capacity  of 
Peter.  They  may  have  reached  minds  which  he 
could  not  touch  ;  they  may  have  performed  duties, 
subordinate  indeed,  but  still  necessary,  such  as 
he  was  not  gifted  to  perform.  Each  apostle  takes 
his  own  place,  and  stands  easily  and  naturally  in 
it ;  neither  stretching  after  what  was  above,  nor 
contemning  what  was  below  him.  In  this  in- 
stance, as  well  as  in  others,  we  may  derive  a 
lesson  from  them. 

In  another  point  of  view,  the  company  of  the 
apostles    presents    us    with    a    spectacle   which, 
though  it  may  not  be  a  very  instructive,  is  cer- 
tainly a  pleasing  one*.     Within  their  common  fra- 
ternity there  were  no  less  than  three  distinct  bands 
of  natural   brethren.     Peter   and   Andrew  were\ 
brothers ;    John    and    James   the    Greater   were   \ 
brothers ;  and  so  also  were  James  the  Less,  Jude     \ 
or  Thaddeus,  and  Simon  Zelotes.     With  the  ties      \ 
of  a  common  faith,  of  a  common  toil,  and  a  com- 
mon danger,  were  thus  beautifully  blended  the 
ties  of  consanguinity  and  domestic  affection  ;  and      ! 
a  texture  of  harmonious  coloring  was  completed 


196  CONCLUDING    REMARKS. 

in  this  companionship,  such  as  is  seldom  woven 
on  earth.  The  three  brethren  last  named  were 
also  near  relations  of  Jesus  himself.  The  reflec- 
tions which  are  readily  suggested  by  this  cir- 
cumstance are,  that  our  Saviour  was  beloved  at 
home  as  well  as  abroad ;  and  that  the  familiarity 
of  relationship  did  not  impair  the  respect  in  which 
he  was  held  as  a  master  and  teacher.  We  see 
also  in  this  fact  another  cause  of  his  love  for 
his  disciples,  and  of  their  love  for  him,  —  a  cause 
which  is  far  from  diminishing  our  reverence  for 
him,  or  our  interest  in  them.  They  were  not 
strangers  to  each  other ;  they  were  not  brought 
together  merely  by  the  attractions  of  sympathy, 
or  the  demands  of  a  great  work.  They  were  not 
countrymen  only ;  they  were  neighbors,  part- 
ners, early  acquaintances ;  they  were  more,  for 
they  were  kinsmen,  with  the  mutual  attachments 
of  kindred ;  and  they  go  about  on  their  labors 
before  us,  a  more  social,  united";  confidential, 
and  interesting  group,  than  if  there  had  been 
no  family  bonds  to  strengthen  and  adorn  their 
union. 

Let  us  next  view  the  apostles  as  authors,  and 
as  subjects  of  history.  I  should  wonder  at  the 
state  of  that  man's  affections  who  could  read  the 
Gospels,  two  of  which  were  written  by  apostles, 
without  being  struck  by  the  exceeding  modesty 
and  self-forgetfulness  of  the  disciples,  and  their 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  197 

absorbing  attention  to  one  individual,  their  ven- 
erated and  beloved  Master.  There  are  no  vaunts 
in  those  sacred  histories  ;  no  instances  of  open 
or  disguised  egotism.  When  the  writer  speaks 
of  his  fellow-disciples,  he  relates  with  the  utmost 
simplicity  their  faults,  and  prejudices,  and  want 
of  faith,  as  well  as  the  better  parts  of  their  char- 
acters. And  he  speaks  of  his  Master,  too,  with 
equal  simplicity,  but  with  how  much  greater  fre- 
quency and  devotion !  He  brings  every  other 
person,  every  other  thing,  he  brings  himself,  under 
perfect  subordination  to  this  main  subject  of  his 
narrative.  He  does  this,  not  artfully  and  inten- 
tionally, but  unavoidably ;  from  feeling,  from 
impulse,  from  the  conviction  that  there  is  but  one 
individual  of  whom  he  is  giving  an  account ;  and 
if  others  are  mentioned,  they  are  mentioned  be- 
cause they  are  in  some  manner  connected  with 
that  person.  If  Jesus  had  occasion  to  praise  one 
of  his  disciples,  the  evangelist  records  the  fact 
without  envy ;  if  that  disciple,  or  any  other  one 
is  rebuked,  he  relates  it  without  evasion  or  excuse. 
He  keeps  himself  to  the  sayings  and  actions  of 
his  Master,  as  to  his  chief  concern.  He  indulges 
in  no  inferences,  no  moral  reflections,  no  expres- 
sion of  his  own  views  or  feelings ;  he  writes  pure 
history,  simple  narrative ;  and  on  all  occasions 
he  tells,  without  reserve  and  without  suspicion, 
the  plain  truth ;  we  see  and  feel  that  he  does ; 


198  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

there  is  an  honesty  abont  every  relation  which 
cannot  be  mistaken  or  suspected.  And  we  see 
and  feel,  too,  that  the  chief  personage  of  the 
history  is  not  brought  out  into  such  entire  relief, 
into  such  a  concentration  of  light,  by  any  effort 
or  design  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  but  only  and 
wholly  on  account  of  the  unapproached  sub- 
limity and  intrinsic  superiority  of  the  character 
itself. 

There  is  one  other  circumstance  in  the  lives 
of  the  apostles  which  I  am  bound  to  notice  for 
the  sake  of  its  singularity  and  importance ;  and 
then  I  will  leave  them  to  the  meditations  and 
further  inquiries  of  my  readers.  I  have  several 
times  had  occasion  to  speak  of  the  national  pre- 
judices of  these  men,  and  the  difficulty  which 
they  had  to  comprehend  the  entire  spirituality 
of  their  Master's  system  and  kingdom,  and  to 
admit  into  their  associations  with  the  Jewish 
Messiah  and  Saviour  the  ideas  of  poverty,  lowli- 
ness, suffering,  and  death.  Attached  as  they  were 
to  him  by  all  the  ties  which  we  have  enumer- 
ated, we  see  that  when  he  was  actually  appre- 
hended by  his  enemies,  they  all  forsook  him  and 
fled ;  that  they  did  not  return  to  him ;  and  that 
on  the  mount  where  he  was  crucified  there  was 
but  one  of  them  who  appeared  to  witness  the 
death  of  their  Master  and  kinsman,  and  the  ex- 
tinction of  all  their  hopes.     The  event  was  one 


CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  199 

for  which  they  were  wholly  unprepared.  It  con- 
founded them.  Their  preconceived  opinions  were 
so  strong,  that  when  Jesus  had  before  spoken  to 
them  of  his  death,  they  shut  up  their  ears  and 
their  eyes,  they  would  not  understand  him.  We 
do  not  find  a  single  hint  in  the  Gospels  that  they 
ever  did  understand  him.  The  event  itself  was 
a  blow  which  at  once  enlightened  and  convinced 
them,  and  scattered  them  abroad  also,  like  sheep 
without  a  shepherd.     This  is  one  scene. 

And  now  let  us  behold  another,  which  imme- 
diately succeeds  it.  Not  a  great  many  days 
elapse  when  we  find  these  very  men,  disheart- 
ened, disappointed,  terrified,  and  dispersed  as 
they  had  been,  all  gathered  together  again  with 
one  accord,  fully  recovered  from  all  their  depres- 
sion, and  with  a  settled  resolution  stamped  on  all 
their  demeanor,  which  never  marked  them  be- 
fore, even  while  their  Master  was  with  them,  to 
lead,  combine,  and  encourage  them.  The  cata- 
logue of  their  names  is  full,  with  one  vacancy 
only,  which  they  immediately  supply.  They 
begin  to  preach  the  doctrines  of  a  crucified 
Saviour,  and  we  hear  no  more  of  their  earthly 
notions  of  his  kingdom.  Their  crude  ideas  and 
temporal  hopes  have,  in  a  few  days,  vanished 
away.  They  preach  Christianity,  simply  and 
purely.  They  gather  to  themselves  thousands  of 
converts.       They    are     persecuted,    imprisoned, 


200  CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

threatened  ;  they  behold  one  of  their  number  soon 
cut  off  with  the  sword ;  they  are  surrounded  by 
enemies  and  temptations ;  and  yet  they  never 
hesitate  nor  falter  ;  no,  not  the  weakest  of  them  ; 
there  is  not  a  single  defection  from  their  reunited 
brotherhood.  They  go  through  country  after 
country,  and  toil  after  toil,  laying  down  their 
lives,  one  after  another,  for  the  holy  truth,  and 
they  leave  disciples  behind  them  everywhere,  to 
teach,  and  dare,  and  suffer,  and  do,  and  die,  as 
they  did. 

Now  what  is  the  cause  of  all  this,  and  how  is 
it  to  be  accounted  for?  Unbelievers  may  have 
many  explanations  to  give,  and  they  may  be  in- 
genious ones.  I  have  but  one,  and  it  is  a  simple 
one.  It  is,  that  their  crucified  Master  rose  from 
the  dead  as  they  have  told  us  he  did ;  that  he 
instructed  them  as  they  have  told  us  he  did ; 
and  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  was  sent 
from  the  Father,  according  to  his  promise,  to 
enlighten  and  sustain  them.  In  short,  I  consider 
the  conduct  of  the  apostles,  at  and  after  the 
death  of  Jesus,  as  perhaps  the  strongest  proof  of 
the  reality  of  his  glorious  resurrection.  If  he 
rose  from  the  dead  and  appeared  to  them,  and 
instructed  and  confirmed  them,  I  can  account 
for  the  sudden  change  in  their  characters,  and 
for  their  subsequent  knowledge  and  perseverance 
and  boldness  and  success.     If  he  rose  not  from 


CONCLUDING   REMARKS-  201 

the  dead,  I  cannot  account  for  those  things ;  and 
the  whole  subject  remains  to  me  a  deep  historical 
mystery. 

Simple,  honest,  excellent  men !  raised  up  by 
Providence  for  wonderful  ends  by  wonderful 
means !  Your  lives,  unadorned  as  they  are,  and 
comprehended  in  a  few  plain  words,  are  yet  alone 
among  the  lives  of  men,  —  alone  in  the  varieties 
and  contrasts-  of  their  fortunes,  alone  in  the 
multitude  and  importance  of  their  consequences. 
We  should  be  senseless  if  we  did  not  perceive 
the  influence  w"hich  you  have  exerted  on  the 
character  and  opinions  of  mankind.  We  should 
be  thankless  if  we  did  not  acknowledge  the 
benefits  of  that  influence,  and  bless  God  that  we 
live  to  know  and  feel  them.  And  we  humbly 
pray  to  God,  the  universal  Father,  the  Source  of 
all  excellence  and  truth,  that  our  fidelity  to  our 
common  Master  may  be  like  yours;  that  our 
perseverance  in  executing  his  commands  may 
be  like  yours ;  and  that  like  yours  may  be  our 
courage  and  constancy,  if  we  should  ever  be 
called  on  to  sacrifice  comfort,  worldly  consider- 
ation, or  life  itself,  to  duty,  conscience,  and 
faith.  / 

- 
9* 


COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS. 


SAINT  ANDREW'S  DAY. 

November  SO. 

Collect.  Almighty  God,  who  didst  give  such 
grace  unto  thy  holy  Apostle  Saint  Andrew,  that 
he  readily  obeyed  the  calling  of  thy  Son  Jesus 
Christ  and  followed  him  without  delay  ;  grant 
unto  us  all,  that  we,  being  called  by  thy  holy 
word,  may  forthwith  give  up  ourselves  obediently 
to  fulfil  thy  holy  commandments,  through  the 
same  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

Who  leads  the  glorious  company, 

The  Apostles'  sainted  band  ? 
First  on  the  roll  of  duty  see 

The  holy  Andrew  stand. 

He  first  the  promised  Saviour  sought 

Within  his  low  abode ; 
And  whom  he  found,  to  others  taught, 

The  Christ  and  Lamb  of  God. 


204  COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS. 

And  he,  among  the  first,  the  call 

To  tend  his  Lord  obeyed ; 
Forsook  his  ship,  his  home,  his  all ; 

And  followed  where  he  led. 

"  Fisher  of  men,"  by  night,  by  day, 

His  ready  toils  he  set ; 
Intent  to  close  his  captive  prey 

Within  the  Gospel  net. 

Nor  scrupled  he  to  yield  his  breath, 

By  many  a  labor  tried, 
And  die,  with  willing  mind,  the  death 

By  which  his  Master  died. 

And  now  his  name  with  service  meet, 

Leads  on  the  sacred  year, 
And  bids  the  Church  prepare  to  greet 

The  Saviour's  Advent  near. 

Bp.  Mant. 


COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS.  205 


SAINT  THOMAS'S  DAY. 
December  21. 

Collect..  Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  who 
for  the  more  confirmation  of  the  faith  didst  suffer 
thy  holy  Apostle  Thomas  to  be  doubtful  in  thy 
Son's  resurrection  ;  grant  us  so  perfectly,  and 
without  all  doubt,  to  believe  in  thy  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  that  our  faith  in  thy  sight  may  never  be 
reproved.  Hear  us,  0  Lord,  through  the  same 
Jesus  Christ,  in  whose  name  we  ascribe  unto 
thee  all  honor  and  glory,  now  and  forevermore. 
Amen. 

HYMN. 

•  I  hear  the  glorious  Sufferer  tell, 
How  on  his  cross  he  vanquished  hell, 

And  all  the  powers  beneath ; 
Transported  and  inspired,  my  tongue 
Attempts  his  triumphs  in  a  song ; 
"  How  has  the  serpent  lost  his  sting,  and  where 's  thy  victory, 
death  ?  " 

But  when  he  shows  his  hand  and  heart, 
With  those  dear  prints  of  dying  smart, 
He  sets  my  soul  on  fire; 


206  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 

Not  the  beloved  John  could  rest 
With  more  delight  upon  that  breast, 
Nor  Thomas  pry  into  those  wounds  with  more  intense  de- 
sire. 

Kindly  he  opens  me  his  ear, 

And  bids  me  pour  my  sorrow  there, 

And  tell  him  all  my  pains. 
Thus  while  I  ease  my  burdened  heart, 
In  every  woe  he  bears  a  part, 
His  arms  embrace  me,  and  his  hand  my  drooping  head  sus* 
tains. 

Watts. 


COLLECTS  AND   HYMNS.  207 


SAINT  JOHN  THE  EVANGELIST'S  DAY. 

December  27. 

Collect.  Merciful  Lord,  we  beseech  thee  to 
cast  thy  bright  beams  of  light  upon  thy  Church, 
that  it,  being  enlightened  by  the  doctrine  of  thy 
blessed  Apostle  and  Evangelist  Saint  John,  may 
so  walk  in  the  light  of  thy  truth,  that  it  may  at 
length  attain  to  the  light  of  everlasting  life, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

Among  the  planets  heavenly  bright, 
Which  round  the  Sun  of  glory  shine ; 

No  orb  emits  a  purer  light, 

A  holier  radiance,  John,  than  thine. 

Apostle  thou  of  Christ  the  Lord ; 

Prophet  of  scenes  to  come  decreed ; 
Historian  of  the  incarnate  Word ; 

Martyr  in  will,  if  not  in  deed. 

Yet  by  another  name  we  deem 

Thy  claim  to  high  renown  approved, 

A  name,  of  equal  praise  the  theme, 
"  Disciple,  by  thy  Master  loved." 


208  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 

Be  ours  to  mark  His  portrait  fair 
Whom  thy  recording  pencil  drew ; 

Be  ours  to  mark  thy  faithful  care, 
To  his  divine  commandments  true ; 

To  note  thy  life  ;  to  see  thee  fling 
The  beams  of  sacred  truth  abroad ; 

And  soar  with  thee  on  eagle  wing, 

And  view  unblamed  the  throne  of  God. 

And  may  our  faith,  blest  Saint,  like  thine 
By  love  to  God  and  man  be  proved  ; 

That  we  in  some  degree  may  shine, 
"  Disciples  by  our  Master  loved." 

Bp.  Mant. 


ANOTHER. 

"Peter,  seeing  him,  saith  to  Jesus,  Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do?  Jesus 
saith  unto  him,  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  follow 
thou  me."    John  xxi.  21,  22. 

"  Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  "  — 
Ask'st  thou,  Christian,  for  thy  friend  ? 

If  his  love  for  Christ  be  true, 
Christ  hath  told  thee  of  his  end. 

This  is  he  whom  God  approves ; 

This  is  he  whom  Jesus  loves. 

Ask  not  of  him  more  than  this; 

Leave  it  in  his  Saviour's  breast, 
Whether,  early  called  to  bliss, 

He  in  youth  shall  find  his  rest, 


COLLECTS  AND   HYMNS.  209 

Or  armed  in  his  station  wait 
Till  his  Lord  be  at  the  gate ;  — 

Whether  in  his  lonely  course, 

(Lonely,  not  forlorn)  he  stay, 
Or  with  love's  supporting  force 

Cheat  the  toil  and  cheer  the  way ; 
Leave  it  all  in  his  high  hand, 
Who  doth  hearts  as  streams  command.* 

Gales  from  heaven,  if  so  he  will, 

Sweeter  melodies  can  wake, 
On  the  lonely  mountain  rill, 

Than  the  meeting  waters  make. 
Who  hath  the  Father  and  the  Son 
May  be  left,  —  but  not  alone. 

Sick  or  healthful,  slave  or  free, 
Wealthy,  or  despised  and  poor,  — 

What  is  that  to  him  or  thee, 
So  his  love  to  Christ  endure  ? 

When  the  shore  is  won  at  last, 

Who  will  count  the  billows  past  ? 

Only,  since  our  souls  will  shrink 

At  the  touch  of  natural  grief, 
When  our  earthly  loved  ones  sink, 

Lend  us,  Lord,  thy  sure  relief; 
Patient  hearts  their  pain  to  see, 
And  thy  grace  to  follow  thee. 

Keble. 

*  "  The  king's  heart  is  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  as  the  rivers  of 
water:  he  turneth  it  whithersoever  he  will."     Prov  xxi.  1. 


210  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 


SAINT  MATTHIAS'S  DAY. 

Febkuary  24. 

Collect.  0  Almighty  God,  who  into  the 
place  of  the  traitor  Judas  didst  choose  thy  faith- 
ful servant  Matthias  to  be  of  the  number  of  the 
twelve  apostles ;  grant  that  thy  Church,  being 
always  preserved  from  false  apostles,  may  be  or- 
dered and  guided  by  faithful  and  true  pastors, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

Who  is  God's  chosen  priest  ? 
He  who  on  Christ  stands  waiting  day  and  night, 
Who  traced  his  holy  steps,  nor  ever  ceased, 

From  Jordan  banks  to  Bethphage  height ;  — 

Who  hath  learned  lowliness 
From  his  Lord's  cradle,  patience  from  his  cross ; 
Whom  poor  men's  eyes  and  hearts  consent  to  bless ; 

To  whom,  for  Christ,  the  world  is  loss ;  — 

Who  both  in  agony 
Hath  seen  hirn,  and  in  glory  ;  and  in  both 
Owned  him  divine,  and  yielded,  nothing  loath, 

Body  and  soul  to  live  and  die, 


COLLECTS  AND   HYMNS.  211 

In  witness  of  his  Lord, 
Id  humble  following  of  his  Saviour  dear. 
This  is  the  man  to  wield  the  unearthly  sword, 

Warring  unharmed  with  sin  and  fear. 

But  who  can  e'er  suffice  — 
What  mortal  —  for  this  more  than  angel's  task, 
Winning  or  losing  souls,  thy  life-blood's  price  ? 

The  gift  were  too  divine  to  ask, 

But  thou  hast  made  it  sure 
By  thy  dear  promise  to  thy  Church  and  Bride, 
That  thou,  on  earth,  wouldst  aye  with  her  endure, 

Till  earth  to  heaven  be  purified. 

Keble. 


A  GOOD  PRIEST. 

Give  me  the  priest  these  graces  shall  possess ;  — 

Of  an  ambassador  the  just  address ; 

A  father's  tenderness ;  a  shepherd's  care ; 

A  leader's  courage,  which  the  cross  can  bear ; 

A  ruler's  awe ;  a  watchman's  wakeful  eye ; 

A  pilot's  skill,  the  helm  in  storms  to  ply ; 

A  fisher's  patience ;  and  a  laborer's  toil ; 

A  guide's  dexterity  to  disembroil ; 

A  prophet's  inspiration  from  above ; 

A  teacher's  knowledge,  —  and  a  Saviour's  love. 

Bp.  Kenn. 


212  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 


SAINT  PHILIP  AND   SAINT  JAMES'S*  DAY. 
May  1. 

Collect.  0  Almighty  God,  whom  truly  to 
know  is  everlasting  life ;  grant  us  perfectly  to 
know  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  life,  that  following  the  steps  of  thy 
holy  Apostles  Saint  Philip  and  Saint  James,  we 
may  steadfastly  walk  in  the  way  that  leadeth  to 
eternal  life,  through  the  same  thy  Son  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

Holy  Jesus,  Saviour  blest 
As,  by  passion  strong  possest, 
Through  this  world  of  sin  we  stray, 
Thou  to  guide  us  art  the  way. 

Holy  Jesus,  when  the  night 
Of  error  blinds  our  clouded  sight, 
Round  the  cheering  day  to  throw, 
Saviour,  then  the  truth  art  thou. 

Holy  Jesus,  when  our  power 
Falls  us  in  temptation's  hour, 

*  James  the  Less. 


COLLECTS   AND  HYMNS.  213 

All  unequal  to  the  strife  ; 
Thou  to  aid  us  art  the  life. 

Who  would  reach  his  heavenly  home ; 
Who  would  to  the  Father  come ; 
Who  the  Father's  presence  see ; 
Jesus,  he  must  come  by  thee. 

Bp.  Mant 


214  COLLECTS  AND   HYMNS. 


SAINT  JOHN  THE  BAPTIST'S  DAY. 

June  24. 

Collect.  Almighty  God,  by  whose  provi- 
dence thy  servant  John  Baptist  was  wonderfully 
born,  and  sent  to  prepare  the  way  of  thy  Son, 
our  Saviour,  by  preaching  repentance ;  make  us 
so  to  follow  his  doctrine  and  holy  life,  that  we 
may  truly  repent  according  to  his  preaching ; 
and,  after  his  example,  constantly  speak  the  truth, 
boldly  rebuke  vice,  and  patiently  suffer  for  the 
truth's  sake ;  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
Amen. 

HYMN. 

Hark  through  the  lonely  waste, 

By  foot  of  man  unpaced, 
"  Prepare  the  way,"  a  warning  voice  resounds  \ 

"  Level  the  opposing  hill, 

The  hollow  valley  fill, 
Make  straight  the  crooked,  smooth  the  rugged  grounds ; 
Prepare  a  passage,  —  form  it  plain  and  broad ; 
And  through  the  desert  make  a  highway  for  our  God  !  " 

Thine,  Baptist,  was  the  cry, 
In  ages  long  gone  by, 


COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS.  .  215 

Heard  in  clear  accents  by  the  prophet's  ear  ; 

As  if 't  were  thine  to  wait, 

And  with  imperial  state 
Herald  some  Eastern  monarch's  proud  career ; 
Who  thus  might  march  his  host  in  full  array, 
And  speed  through  trackless  wilds  his  unresisted  way. 

But  other  task  hadst  thou 

Than  lofty  hills  to  bow, 
Make  straight  the  crooked,  the  rough  places  plain. 

Thine  was  the  harder  part 

To  smooth  the  human  heart, 
The  wilderness  where  sin  had  fixed  his  reign  ; 
To  make  deceit  his  mazy  wiles  forego, 
Bring  down  high-vaulting  pride,  and  lay  ambition  low. 

Such,  Baptist,  was  thy  care, 

That  no  obstruction  there 
Might  check  the  progress  of  the  King  of  kings; 

But  that  a  clear  highway 

Might  welcome  the  array 
Of  heavenly  graces  which  his  presence  brings ; 
And  where  repentance  had  prepared  the  road, 
There  faith  might  enter  in,  and  love  to  man  and  God. 

Bp.  Mant. 


216  COLLECTS   AND  HYMNS. 


SAL'S' £  PETER'S  DAY. 

June  29. 

Collect.  0  Almighty  God,  who  by  thy  Son 
Jesus  Christ  didst  give  to  thy  Apostle  Saint  Peter 
many  excellent  gifts,  and  commandedst  him  ear- 
nestly to  feed  thy  flock  ;  make,  we  beseech  thee, 
all  pastors  diligently  to  preach  thy  holy  word, 
and  the  people  obediently  to  follow  the  same, 
that  they  may  receive  the  crown  of  everlasting 
glory,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

Lord  !  when  thy  Peter,  weak  in  faith, 

By  terror  too  severely  tried, 
Failed  in  thine  hour  of  threatened  death, 

And  thee  forsook,  and  thee  denied ;  — 

When  thrice  his  ear  the  challenge  heard, 
And  thrice  his  tongue  renounced  thy  name, 

And  each  sad  time  the  recreant  word 

More  loud  and  more  impassioned  came ;  — 

One  look  from  thee  his  fault  reproved, 

And  made  his  slumbering  conscience  start ; 

One  look  from  thee,  so  dearly  loved, 
Spoke  daggers  to  his  bleeding  heart ; 


COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS.  217 

And  sent  him  forth  a  prey  to  grief, 

Unheeded  all  his  former  fears, 
To  seek  in  solitude  relief 

From  bitter  and  repentant  tears. 

Lord !  when  by  human  frailty  led, 

We  pass  thy  gracious  warning  by, 
Prone  as  we  are  awry  to  tread, 

And  thee  forsake,  and  thee  deny ;  — 

Grant  us  to  feel  the  keen  rebuke, 

By  conscience,  faithful  guardian,  sent, 
As  if  we  saw  thy  pitying  look, 

When  on  thy  frail  Apostle  bent. 

That  pitying  look !     O  may  it  melt 

Our  hearts  in  penitential  showers ! 
May  Peter's  grief  by  us  be  felt, 

And  O,  be  his  forgiveness  ours  1 

Bp.  Mant. 


ANOTHER. 

"When  Herod  would  have  brought  him  out,  the  same  night  Peter  was  sleep, 
ing."    Acts  xii.  6. 

Thou  thrice  denied,  yet  thrice  beloved, 
Watch  by  thine  own  forgiven  friend ; 

In  sharpest  perils  faithful  proved, 
Let  his  soul  love  thee  to  the  end. 

The  prayer  is  heard,  —  else  why  so  deep 

His  slumber  on  the  eve  of  death  ? 
And  wherefore  smiles  he  in  his  sleep 

As  one  who  drew  celestial  breath  ? 
10 


218  COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS. 

He  loves  and  is  beloved  again,  — 
Can  his  soul  choose  but  be  at  rest  ? 

Sorrow  hath  fled  away,  and  Pain 
Dares  not  invade  the  guarded  nest. 

He  dearly  loves  and  not  alone  : 

For  his  winged  thoughts  are  soaring  high 

Where  never  yet  frail  heart  was  known 
To  breathe  in  vain  affection's  sigh. 

He  loves  and  weeps,  —  but  more  than  tears 
Have  sealed  thy  welcome  and  his  love,  — 

One  look  lives  in  him,  arid  endears 
Crosses  and  wrongs  where'er  he  rove : 

That  gracious  chiding  look,  thy  call 
To  win  him  to  himself  and  thee, 

Sweetening  the  sorrow  of  his  fall, 
Which  else  were  rued  too  bitterly. 

Even  through  the  .veil  of  sleep  it  shines, 
The  memory  of  that  kindly  glance ;  — 

The  Angel  watching  by  divines 

And  spares  awhile  his  blissful  trance. 

Or  haply  to  his  native  lake 

His  vision  wafts  him  back,  to  talk 

With  Jesus,  ere  his  flight  he  take, 
As  in  that  solemn  evening  walk, 

When  to  the  bosom  of  his  friend, 

The  Shepherd,  he  whose  name  is  Good, 

Did  his  dear  lambs  and  sheep  commend, 
Both  bought  and  nourished  with  his  blood : 


COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS.  219 

Then  laid  on  him  the  inverted  tree, 

Which,  firm  embraced  with  heart  and  arm, 

Might  cast  o'er  hope  and  memory, 
O'er  life  and  death,  its  awful  charm. 

With  brightening  heart  he  bears  it  on, 
His  passport  through  the  eternal  gates, 

To  his  sweet  home,  —  so  nearly  won, 
He  seems,  as  by  the  door  he  waits, 

The  unexpressive  notes  to  hear 

Of  angel  song  and  angel  motion, 
Rising  and  falling  on  the  ear 

Like  waves  in  Joy's  unbounded  ocean. 

His  dream  is  changed,  —  the  Tyrant's  voice 
Calls  to  that  last  of  glorious  deeds,  — 

But  as  he  rises  to  rejoice, 

Not  Herod  but  an  Angel  leads. 

He  dreams  he  sees  a  lamp  flash  bright, 

Glancing  around  his  prison  room,  — 
But 't  is  a  gleam  of  heavenly  light 

That  fills  up  all  the  ample  gloom. 

The  flame  that  in  a  few  short  years 

Deep  through  the  chambers  of  the  dead 

Shall  pierce,  and  dry  the  fount  of  tears, 
Is  waving  o'er  his  dungeon-bed. 

Touched  he  upstarts,  —  his  chains  unbind,  — 
Through  darksome  vault,  up  massy  stair, 

His  dizzy,  doubting  footsteps  wind 
To  freedom  and  cool  moonlight  air. 


220  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 

Then  all  himself,  all  joy  and  calm, 
Though  for  a  while  his  hand  forego, 

Just  as  it  touched,  the  martyr's  palm, 
He  turns  him  to  his  task  below ; 

The  pastoral  staff,  the  keys  of  heaven, 
To  wield  awhile  in  gray-haired  might, 

Then  from  his  cross  to  spring  forgiven, 
And  follow  Jesus  Out  of  sight. 

Keble. 


COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS.  221 


SAINT  JAMES'S*  DAY. 
July  26. 

Collect.  Grant,  0  merciful  God,  that  as  thine 
holy  Apostle  Saint  James,  leaving  his  father  and 
all  that  he  had,  without  delay  was  obedient  unto 
the  calling  of  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  followed 
him ;  so  we,  forsaking  all  worldly  and  carnal 
affections,  may  be  evermore  ready  to  follow  thy 
holy  commandments,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

And  couldst  thou,  James,  to  win  the  meed 
Of  glory  for  his  saints  decreed, 

Thy  Saviour's  cup  of  sorrow  taste  ? 
And  couldst  thou  bear  above  thee  spread 
The  waves  baptismal,  dark  and  dread, 

Which  o'er  thy  Saviour  past  ? 

Thou  couldst :  such  aid  his  Spirit  lent ! 
The  stripes,  the  bonds,  the  imprisonment, 

The  scornful  look,  the  taunting  word, 
The  angry  council's  stern  decree, 
The  tyrant's  rage  and  cruelty, 

And  last  the  fatal  sword  : 

*  The  Greater. 


222  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 

These  came  in  turn  ;  and  then  thy  death  I 
O  thou,  to  wear  a  martyr's  wreath 

The  first  of  all  thy  brotherhood  1 
First  of  thy  Saviour's  chosen  train, 
Like  him  the  cup  of  woe  to  drain, 

Like  him  baptized  in  blood  ! 

We  dare  not  rend  the  veil  aside 

By  which  the  All-knowing  wills  to  hide 

The  secrets  of  the  unseen  world  ; 
But  to  our  vision  it  should  seem, 
Might  we  without  irreverence  deem 

Of  that  dark  veil  unfurled ; 

Should  seem  that  thou  wert  there  to  see, 
O  James,  O  son  of  Zebedee, 

And  he,  the  favored  of  your  Lord, 
Martyr  with  thee  at  least  in  will ; 
Together  throned  on  God's  high  hill 

Beside  your  King  adored. 

For  not  in  v^in  his  word  was  given 

That  ye  who  have  through  sufferings  striven, 

For  him  and  for  his  Gospel  known, 
With  him  shall  in  his  glory  dwell, 
And  judge  the  tribes  of  Israel, 

Throned  by  Messiah's  throne. 

Nor  vain  the  word,  that  whosoe'er 
Shall  the  Messiah's  name  prefer 

To  houses,  parents,  children,  wife, 
Shall  hundred-fold  by  him  be  blest, 
Be  welcomed  to  his  Father's  rest, 

And  dwell  in  endless  life. 

Bp.  Mant. 


COLLECTS   AND  HYMNS.  223 


SAINT  BARTHOLOMEW'S  DAY. 

August  24. 

Collect.  0  Almighty  and  everlasting  God, 
who  didst  give  to  thine  Apostle  Bartholomew 
grace  truly  to  believe  and  to  preach  thy  word ; 
grant,  we  beseech  thee,  unto  thy  Church  to  love 
that  word  which  he  believed,  and  both  to  preach 
and  receive  the  same,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

"  Behold,  in  whom  no  guile  I  find, 

An  Israelite  indeed  ! " 
Nathanael,  thus  thy  virtuous  mind 

Did  Israel's  sovereign  read. 

A  guileless  heart !  what  fairer  scene 

In  all  this  world  below 
Does  nature's  loveliness  contain, 

Or  God's  creation  show  ? 

Fair  are  the  snow-wreaths  that  infold 

Yon  Alpine  mountain  s  head ; 
Fair  is  the  stream,  all  crystal,  rolled 

Clear  o'er  its  pebbly  bed ; 


2 24  COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS. 

Fair  is  the  star  of  evening  bright, 

A  gem  in  heaven's  blue  zone ; 
And  fair  the  moonlight's  robe  of  white 

O'er  earth's  green  surface  thrown ; 

But  Alpine  snow,  nor  crystal  stream, 

Can  pure  delight  impart, 
Nor  moon,  nor  evening  planet's  gleam, 

To  match  the  guileless  heart. 

For  these  material  works  of  God 

Of  him  memorials  stand, 
And  tell  the  Maker's  power  abroad, 

The  wonders  of  his  hand : 

But  guileless  truth  and  innocence, 

By  God  to  men  consigned, 
Reflect  his  moral  excellence, 

And  image  of  his  mind. 

Bp.  Mant. 


COLLECTS  AND   HYMNS.  225 


SAINT  MATTHEW'S  DAY. 
September  21. 

Collect.  0  Almighty  God,  who  by  thy  blessed 
Son  didst  call  Matthew  from  the  receipt  of  custom, 
to  be  an  apostle  and  evangelist;  grant  us  grace 
to  forsake  all  covetous  desires,  and  inordinate  love 
of  riches,  and  to  follow  the  same  thy  Son  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lor#,  who  liveth  and  reigneth  with 
thee,  world  without  end.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

Prepare  the  feast !  the  viands  bring, 

Heap  high  the  festal  board  ! 
The  subject  welcomes  Israel's  king ; 

The  follower  greets  his  Lord. 

But  who  is  he,  the  host,  whose  care 

Provides  the  costly  feast  ? 
And  who  are  they  assembled  there 

;  Around  the  heavenly  guest  ? 

'T  is  Matthew,  't  is  the  publican ; 

The  favored  host  is  he 
Who  sat,  a  much-despised  man, 

Beside  Tiberias'  sea. 

10*  o 


226  COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS. 

And  they,  the  guests  assembled  round, 

They  boast  no  better  name  ; 
One  in  disgraceful  union  found, 

Allied  to  sin  and  shame. 

0  holy  Jesus,  and  are  these 
Associates  meet  for  thee  ? 

Is  this  the  host  thy  soul  to  please, 
And.  this  the  company  ? 

"Not  to  the  righteous  was  I  sent; 
Not  to  the  whole  I  cry  ; 

1  call  the  sinner  to  repent ; 

The  sick  man's  health  am  I. 

M  For  them  my  glory  I  resigned  ; 

For  them  endure  the  grave  ; 
I  came  the  wandering  sheep  to  find, 

The  perishing  to  save." 

Shepherd  of  Israel,  Saviour  dear ! 

Whose  voice  thy  duteous  sheep 
Safe  in  thy  fold  delighted  hear, 

And  to  thy  pasture  keep ; 

Repentant,  lo !  to  thee  we  turn, 

To  thee  for  health  we  pray ; 
Give  us  what  thou  reveal'st  to  learn, 

And  what  thou  bidd'st  obey. 

Bp.  Mant. 


COLLECTS  AND   HYMNS.  227 


ANOTHER. 


Ye  hermits  blest,  ye  holy  maids, 
The  nearest  heaven  on  earth, 
Who  talk  with  God  in  shadowy  glades, 

Free  from  rude  care  and  mirth ; 
To  whom  some  viewless  teacher  brings 
The  secret  lore  of  rural  things, 
The  moral  of  each  fleeting  cloud  and  gale, 
The  whispers  from  above,  that  haunt  the  twilight  vale ; 

Say,  when  in  pity  ye  have  gazed 

On  the  wreathed  smoke  afar, 
That  o'er  some  town,  like  mist  upraised, 

Hung,  hiding  sun  and  star, 
Then  as  you  turned  your  weary  eye 
To  the  green  earth  and  open  sky, 
Were  ye  not  fain  to  doubt  how  Faith  could  dwell 
Amid  that  dreary  glare,  in  this  world's  citadel  ? 

But  Love 's  a  flower  that  will  not  die 

For  lack  of  leafy  screen, 
And  Christian  Hope  can  cheer  the  eye 

That  ne'er  saw  vernal  green. 
Then  be  sure  that  Love  can  bless 
Even  in  this  crowded  wilderness, 
Where  ever-moving  myriads  seem  to  say, 
Go  —  thou  art  naught  to  us,  nor  we  to  thee  —  away ! 

There  are  in  this  loud  stirring  tide 

Of  human  care  and  crime, 
With  whom  the  melodies  abide 

Of  the  everlasting  chime ; 


228  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 

Who  carry  music  in  their  heart 
Through  dusky  lane  and  wrangling  mart, 
Plying  their  daily  task  with  busier  feet 
Because  their  secret  souls  a  holy  strain  repeat. 

How  sweet  to  them,  in  such  brief  rest 

As  thronging  cares  afford, 
In  thought  to  wander  fancy-blest, 
To  where  their  gracious  Lord, 
In  vain,  to  win  proud  Pharisees, 
Spake,  and  was  heard  by  fell  disease,  — 
But  not  in  vain,  beside  yon  breezy  lake, 
Bade  the  meek  Publican  his  gainful  seat  forsake. 

At  once  he  rose,  and  left  his  gold ; 

His  treasure  and  his  heart 
Transferred,  where  he  shall  safe  behold 

Earth  and  her  idols  part ; 
While  he  beside  his  endless  store 
Shall  sit,  and  floods  unceasing  pour 
Of  Christ's  true  riches  o'er  all  time  and  space, 
First  angel  of  his  Church,  first  steward  of  his  grace. 

Nor  can  ye  not  delight  to  think 
Where  he  vouchsafed  to  eat, 
How  the  pure  Master  did  not  shrink 

From  touch  of  sinner's  meat ; 
What  worldly  hearts  and  hearts  impure 
Went  with  him  through  the  rich  man's  door ; 
That  we  might  learn  of  him  lost  souls  to  love, 
And  view  his  least  and  worst  with  hope  to  meet  above. 

These  gracious  lines  shed  Gospel  light 
On  Mammon's  gloomiest  cells,       # 


COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS.  229 

As  on  some  city's  cheerless  night 
The  tide  of  sunrise  swells, 

Till  tower,  and  dome,  and  bridge-way  proud 

Are  mantled  with  a  golden  cloud, 
And  to  wise  hearts  this  certain  hope  is  given, 
"  No  mist  that  man  may  raise  shall  hide  the  eye  of  Heaven." 

And  oh !  if  even  on  Babel  shine 

Such  gleams  of  Paradise, 
Should  not  their  peace  be  peace  divine, 

Who  day  by  day  arise 
To  look  on  clearer  heavens  and  scan 
The  work  of  God  untouched  by  man  ? 
Shame  on  us  who  about  us  Babel  bear, 
And  live  in  Paradise,  as  if  God  was  not  there  S 

Keble. 


!S0  COLLECTS   AND   HYMNS. 


SAINT  SIMON  AJTO   SAINT  JUDE'S  DAY. 

October  28. 

Collect.  0  Almighty  God,  who  hast  built  thy 
Church  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  head 
corner-stone,  grant  us  so  to  be  joined  together  in 
unity  of  spirit  by  their  doctrine,  that  we  may  be 
made  a  holy  temple  acceptable  unto  thee,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.     Amen. 

HYMN. 

As  at  the  first,  by  two  and  two 
His  herald  saints  the  Saviour  sent 

To  soften  hearts  like  morning  dew, 
Where  he  to  shine  in  mercy  meant ; 

So  evermore  he  deems  his  name 
Best  honored  and  his  way  prepared, 

When  watching  by  his  altar-flame 
He  sees  his  servants  duly  paired. 

He  loves  when  age  and  youth  are  met, 
Fervent  old  age  and  youth  serene, 

Their  high  and  low  in  concord  set 
For  sacred  song,  joy's  golden  mean. 


COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS.  231 

He  loves  when  some  clear  soaring  mind 

Is  drawn  by  mutual  piety 
To  simple  souls  and  unrefined, 

Who  in  life's  shadiest  covert  lie. 

Or  if  perchance  a  saddened  heart 
That  once  was  gay  and  felt  the  spring, 

Cons  slowly  o'er  its  altered  part, 
In  sorrow  and  remorse  to  sing, 

Thy  gracious  care  will  send  that  way 

Some  spirit  full  of  glee,  yet  taught 
To  bear  the  sight  of  dull  decay, 

And  nurse  it  with  all  pitying  thought ; 

Cheerful  as  soaring  lark,  and  mild 
As  evening  blackbird's  full-toned  lay, 

When  the  relenting  sun  has  smiled 

Bright  through  a  whole  December  day. 

These  are  the  tones  to  brace  and  cheer 

The  lonely  watcher  of  the  fold, 
When  nights  are  dark,  and  foemen  near, 

When  visions  fade  and  hearts  grow  cold. 

How  timely  then  a  comrade's  song 
Comes  floating  on  the  mountain  air, 

And  bids  thee  yet  be  bold  and  strong,  — 
Fancy  may  die,  but  Faith  is  there. 

Keble. 


232  COLLECTS  AND  HYMNS. 


ANOTHER. 

Father,  gracious  Father,  hear 
Faith's  effectual  fervent  prayer ; 
Hear,  and  our  petitions  seal, 
Let  us  now  the  answer  feel. 
Still  our  fellowship  increase ; 
Knit  us  in  the  bond  of  peace ; 
Join  our  new-born  spirits,  join 
Each  to  each,  and  all  to  thine. 

Build  us  in  one  body  up, 
Called  in  one  high  calling's  hope; 
One  the  Spirit  whom  we  claim, 
One  the  pure  baptismal  flame, 
One  the  faith,  and  common  Lord, 
One  the  Father  lives  adored, 
Over,  through,  and  in  us  all, 
God  incomprehensible. 

Wesley. 


THE  END. 


Cambridge  :  Stereotyped  and  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


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